The Language of “Blink:” A Hot New Diversity Tool
By Judith Aftergut, Executive Director, the Honoring Institute, Portland, Oregon

Quality Movement

The Quality movement in business and organization has occurred in three major phases. It began with the idea of the production line in the 1920’s at Ford Motor Company, and with the idea that each item produced is the same as every other item. In the 1970’s, the concept of continuous improvement took the quality movement to a next step. Current ideas about quality have moved to the idea that what is required in a fast changing world is the capacity to respond to change. It is not simply continuous improvement that is required, but rather breakthroughs in how people think and solve problems. That is the link to the usefulness of “snap judgments” or intuition—skills that (when used well) build people’s capacities to make the best choices in the midst of changing circumstances.