Sometimes in our attempt to correct a quality oversight we end up creating more havoc than if we had done just nothing. Looking for problems in an otherwise smooth running operation can result in confusion and, in the case I am about to describe, can have adverse consequences on hundreds of people. I know many of you will dispute my logic, or lack thereof, but sometimes even we quality geeks need to take a deep breath and walk away from a situation; unfortunately our egos sometimes do not allow us to do just that. Here’s an example of quality run amuck.

Many of us, I suspect, either live on streets with magical names or have seen some idyllic names during our travels. Seems most of the luxury home neighborhoods have street names that must have been chosen by a group of artists or poets. Mockingbird Lane elicits a certain mystique, as does Deer Path Trail. In order to be in an elite category your street name has to end with Avenue, Court, or maybe Ridge. When we lived in Grosse Pointe we resided on University Place—across the road was Detroit and the street mysteriously became just University. That additional word (Place) just meant that our taxes were higher but the benefits to be accrued by living in the Pointes far outweighed any monetary encumbrance.

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