26 May Defining Quality in Knowledge Work (...it defines itself)

[Paul Terlemezian]

Remember the terrible joke - The surgery was a success but the patient died?

 

Today we have another opportunity for controversy within knowledge work. Is it the quality of our  work or the quality of the work of the recipient of our work that should be measured?

 

With this absurd joke we see the point clearly - there is little value to quality work that does not create quality for the recipient.

 

Drucker challenges us to define quality for our job as knowledge workers. I suggest that we also ask the recipients to define the quality expectations of their work based on our work for them.

 

Whose job is it to make sure the definitions are aligned?