Recently I visited the world-famous Tabasco sauce factory on Avery Island, Louisiana. We live approximately 30 miles from the global super-brand, and what else would a quality professional like to do on his holiday downtime than visit a factory to see what lessons he could learn? And my wife believed she’d be going on a nice day trip... well, I did, for sure.

I like factory tours because they allow me to gain insight into other industries, their practices and techniques, and how they establish and promote quality. Since I am a Quality Ninja, skilled in stealthy sneakiness in my approach to gleaning information, I also use tours as an opportunity to learn how the business comes up with its solutions. Normally it’s the process for creating solutions that stimulates me, not so much the solution. In the case of our Tabasco visit, this involved wondering how they came up with their solution to a quality need: How did they come up with their petit baton rouge, or “little red stick?”

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