Perhaps the single most pervasive reason top management resists the implementation of a quality management system relates to our failure, as quality professionals, to demonstrate the return on investment. We do a less-than-stellar job of demonstrating to executives the financial value implicit in ISO 9001:2000 or any of the other excellent QMS models.

Our linguistic inflection stresses the “quality” and downplays the “management.” Inadvertently, we end up de-emphasizing the role managers play in the strategic implementation of a QMS.

A good QMS helps an organization reach its goals. Those goals universally relate to satisfying customer requirements to make money. For nonprofits, the net gain produced by satisfying customer requirements might be reflected in such monetary benefits as reduced tax burden due to decreased dependencies on community resources.

The challenge for quality professionals is to sell top management on the financial benefits of ISO 9001—or whatever model is appropriate to that industry. We need to be able to say, with conviction, “If we implement this system, we will help our bottom line.” We need to show them the money.

 …