Héloïse has recovered. “Léon. It’s your turn.”
Trying not to stutter too much, Léon begins. “Well, ma’am, in my opinion, our suppliers could be giving us better terms. Only we don’t really know them. They’ve never been here, I’ve never gone to visit them. We could save money, for example, if we only took deliveries on set days. Or perhaps they would agree to send us kits of components instead of us buying them one by one.”
“Thank you, Léon. That’s interesting. Your turn, Hubert.”
“We mustn’t forget that our customers are our lifeblood. The first thing a potential buyer will want to see is whether our customers are faithful to us, and if we know how to satisfy their requirements. Today, our customers complain about our reliability regarding both the quality of our products and their timely delivery. Tomorrow, they may complain that our products are outdated. What we need is an analysis of our market and of our competition.”
“Thank you, Hubert. But it seems to me that you are the one who knows our customers best. What about you, Roger? What do you say?”
Roger had started to blush in anticipation of his turn as soon as Jean-Marc began to speak. Now his face, in contrast to his whiter-than-white T-shirt, is beet red. He gulps. “Umm ... I don’t know. In my opinion, everything said so far comes down to suppressing waste and loss of time, while improving the quality of our remaining activities. It’s all written down in the book that Thierry lent me when your father made me head of quality control. It was a matter of IPO certification. But I don’t remember what IPO stands for ... also your father said that it was just a worthless piece of paper. So we let the matter drop and I never had time to finish the book ...”
Roger is losing track of what he is talking about. Héloïse looks questioningly at Hubert.
“I think you mean ISO, not IPO,” Hubert says, turning to Roger. “ISO is the acronym for International Organization for Standardization. Its goal is to facilitate coordination and international unification of industrial standards. Independent organizations verify the ISO qualifications of companies when they want to standardize their processes according to a recognized industry benchmark. It’s a real opportunity to improve the whole company from top to bottom, including our relationships with both our customers and our suppliers. Roger is right. If we want this company to have a future, we need to learn how to improve our processes. We need to become engaged in waste reduction and continuous improvement—a ‘lean’ process, as everyone is calling it these days. Our competitors are already doing this.”
Héloïse leans back in her chair. “Thank you, everyone. I’ll introduce you to the consultant as soon as I have checked his qualifications.”
Héloïse watches as her management team leaves the office in silence. The sullen expressions on the faces of Jean-Marc and Georgette do not escape her. “They need a consultant in how to be harmonious,” she thinks wryly. She motions to Hubert to stay behind.
“We’re going to do what you suggested. We’ll get a total-quality consultant who is ‘lean,’ as you call it. At least this will give us all a common goal. I didn’t discuss the consultant idea with you before today. What do you think?”
“I didn’t want to contradict you in front of everybody else, but, as much as I think it’s a good idea to get ready for ISO certification, I don’t imagine a consultant would benefit us much. Those experts like to borrow your watch so they can tell you what time it is.”
“If you can’t tell time yourself, then it’s better than nothing,” Héloïse counters. “Only an outsider can assess every department of the company with complete objectivity.”
“Perhaps,” admits Hubert. “The consultant will advise you, since you’re the conductor—something I could never do. I represent just one department of the business, and my vision is distorted by that fact, as is the vision of all other departments. I can tell you’re shocked that we never seem to agree on anything. But that’s normal. Each one of us pursues different goals. Mine is to sell the maximum. Therefore I always want the warehouse to be full of all models all the time, as if this would ensure we’ll never miss a sale. Even if I notice this is becoming increasingly impossible, because the very product I need is almost always among the missing ones—it’s Murphy’s Law—I still request the stockroom to be full of all models all the time. The workshop supervisors, they just want to produce the exact same thing always, to be as efficient as possible. They want a stockroom full of components and a warehouse full of finished products, to make their lives easier. As for Georgette, who holds the purse strings, she doesn’t want any inventory—no finished products, no work in process, and no raw materials—because of the high cost of carrying that inventory. She also doesn’t want us to introduce any new models, because it’s risky. Everyone is right according to their role in their department, and yet everyone is wrong at a certain given moment. Only the customer is always right, but the problem is that they change their mind so often ...”
Héloïse interjects. “All the same, one can have a conflicting opinion and just say so nicely. There’s always such a terrible atmosphere at these meetings. It’s like listening to out-of-tune instruments being played by deaf people.”
“Things aren’t always this bad,” Hubert responds. “There was a full moon the other night, so I guess we were all especially aggressive. But I think what’s really needed here is training in management and in effective communication. I often said as much to your father. It used to drive him crazy. More and more, companies are starting to realize that continuous education is indispensable if a business is to be more profitable. One of our competitors—a very state-of-the-art German company—sets up two weeks of training per person per year, every year. And the boss leads by example, by taking part in those sessions himself. One can’t ever hope to know everything, and everything changes so quickly these days. But you’re the one to decide what we need. Send this consultant to me, and I’ll tell him all I know.”
Héloïse senses Hubert is more relaxed. She adds, “Look, if a person is sick, why deprive that person of a doctor? But I agree that afterward you need to learn how to keep yourself in good health.”
“You can count on me to work with the consultant. I promise you that,” Hubert says. “The challenge is to choose the right one. Once you’ve checked out the service record, it’s a matter of empathy and how you put him or her to work. We will probably end up with the consultant we deserve.”
“Do you think the others will cooperate?”
Hubert considers the question for a moment before replying. “For the most part, yes. But you’ll need to explain to them that a consultant is not just there for the sake of the business, but also to help them as individuals to improve their work. Or rather, I should say, to help them work in a more favorable environment. You should see the time they waste doing things they think are useful, but about which the customer couldn’t care less. I think you’ll need to explain this to the workers directly. Can you imagine how someone like Jean-Marc would pass on this information to them? It’s also important for you to meet with the shop steward. Finally, Héloïse, you can’t keep avoiding the workshops. You need to start going there. I’ll go with you if you want me to.”
“I know. You’re right. I’ll go tomorrow. I’m not dressed for it today.”
Hubert gives the hint of a smile. On this hot late-summer day, Héloïse is wearing a rather low-cut sleeveless top. Her tanned skin would no doubt attract attention. He understands her concern. As elegant as riding sidesaddle may be, Hubert also thinks it’s too risky for women to ride this way during the hunt. “With traditions,” he muses, “It’s best to choose when and when not to conform,