My granddaughter recently asked the inevitable birds-and-bees question: “I know a baby comes from inside the Mommy’s stomach, but how did the baby get there in the first place?” I deflected the question with, “That’s a great question. Why don’t you ask your mother?”

I was more than willing to answer her question, but a parent is better than a grandparent at this time. But her question got me thinking about birth—particularly the birth of quality.

Quality is an expression of worth. Quality is a grade or assessment of excellence. It is a trait or feature of an object (like a product) or an experience (like a service). We use dark-sounding words to describe low quality: shoddy, poor, inferior; and bright-sounding words to characterize high quality: superior, first-class, notable, or exceptional. We esteem everything of high quality as a model to emulate and celebrate. But where does it begin? How did it get there in the first place?

Quality almost always originates from, or is nurtured by, a mentor. They go by many labels—leader, coach, teacher, even parent. It is the influence from another that helps the seeker of great quality to recognize its significance and commit to its creation. Tom Hanks, in his Academy Award acceptance speech said, “I would not be standing here if it were not for Mr. Rawley Farnsworth, my high-school drama teacher, who taught me, ‘Act well the part, there all the glory lies.’”

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