From automobiles to
consumer electronics, from airlines to hotels, American
companies across a wide range of industries have been steadily
losing market share to foreign competitors. Why? The reason,
according to world renowned management guru and bestselling
author Subir Chowdhury, is that, when it comes to quality,
America simply can’t compete. Innovation, according to Chowdhury,
is part of our national DNA, and no other country matches
America’s creative drive and ability to turn innovative
ideas into revolutionary products. However, as fast as we
introduce new products, we lose the very markets we establish
to countries that learn how to manufacture higher quality
versions quicker and more cheaply as well as to provide
superior customer service. As a result, while Japanese and
Korean firms win market share by concentrating on quality
and service, America is continually forced to rely on innovation
to stay ahead.
As chairman and CEO of ASI Consulting Group (asiusa.com),
Chowdhury consults to clients ranging from global Fortune
500 companies to small organizations in both the public
and private sectors. His experience has convinced him that
quality is the pivotal issue upon which American business
will either succeed or fail to compete in the future. “We
like creating, inventing, and pioneering,” he says. “But
on the whole we seem less interested in sustaining and improving
quality once the innovation has taken place. As globalization
has spread, America has lost out to its competitors who
are better at providing quality. When America becomes as
passionate about delivering quality products and services
as it is about innovation, no nation will be able to compete
with the U.S.”
The author of the international bestsellers The Power of
Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma, Chowdhury drives home
the importance and urgency of this message in his new book,
THE ICE CREAM MAKER (Currency Doubleday; October 6, 2005:
Hardcover; $16.95), a compelling business parable that demonstrates
how high quality can be generated and supported throughout
any organization—at every level.
THE ICE CREAM MAKER tells the intriguing story of Peter
Delvecchio, the beleaguered Plant Manager of Dairy Cream,
an ice cream manufacturing company with stagnant sales that
is on the verge of closure. Desperate to save his company
and his own job, Peter reaches out to his former neighbor
Mike McMaster of Natural Foods, who has a talismanic influence
on him. Peter learns from Mike that satisfied employees
who are passionate about their work are more likely to produce
quality work and meet the needs of customers, generating
a self-fulfilling cycle of success.
Through an engaging dialogue between Peter and Mike, Chowdhury
reveals how Mike guides Peter to enable Dairy Cream to rise
from the ashes like a Phoenix, using the concept of “LEO,”
an acronym that stands for Listen, Enrich, and Optimize.
This concept drives home the point that by focusing on quality,
listening to what customers want, and meeting their needs,
companies will reap the benefits of increased profits—the
natural outgrowth of prioritizing customer satisfaction.
Providing crucial insight into what businesses must do to
instill quality into their culture and into every product
and service they provide, THE ICE CREAM MAKER demonstrates
how improved quality is the key for American businesses
to retain and increase their position as leading players
in the global market. Like earlier classics such as Who
Moved My Cheese? and Fish!, it is a book that will be must-reading
for anyone interested in re-kindling passion, motivation,
and engagement in the workplace as well as in growing the
bottom line.
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