Six Sigma was Bill Smith’s vision for excellence in everything. Prior to Six Sigma, companies were implementing total quality management, statistical process control, pre-control, cost of poor quality, and other techniques with minimal effect. Quality became a promise of “motherhood and apple pie,” “or castles in the air.”

Quality improved only through sporadic implementation of preventive approaches and routine use of containment, sort, and corrective actions. Businesses achieved higher quality of product shipped, and paid heavily for it. People started saying “Quality costs.” Then, slogans such as “Quality is free” arose. People started thinking that quality must be a kind of gimmick, and the slogan didn’t fly, even if it was true in some cases. Questions remained—“What is quality?” “Why should it cost?” “Why does one need statistics to improve quality?” In most people’s minds, quality means a simple task that is done right, or done well, or that produces excellence.

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