Recently, I found myself at dinner with friends here in South Florida. They hailed from Boca Raton down to Miami Beach and all, coincidentally, have one thing in common. They are all attorneys. We had barely been seated and the whole group was already talking shop. Listening in, it all seemed like a bunch of belly aching coming from people who charge $250 an hour. They complained that rich people were consumed by the thought of other people taking their money, or about the spoiled behavior of the countless trust fund babies down here. As the stories kept getting more and more unbelievably bad, the smile on my face just kept getting wider and wider. Apparently the silence was deafening as the whole crew almost immediately looked at me and asked, “What are you smiling at?”

I took my time and slowly looked into all of their eyes and then began speaking, “As all of you know, I am from the Midwest. For the last twenty two years, I’ve worked with engineering folks who create a miracle…the modern day car. To this day, I remain awestruck by the fact you can drive a new car with virtually no problems for the first 6 months or a year. What makes it even more incredible is that there are approximately 10,000 parts on a car all working together in harmony. The folks who make this happen are salt-of-the-earth people who get up in the morning and serve others by making these fantastic machines. They pay their taxes, educate their kids and are a pleasure to work with. It never seems to fail. When I set phone call with them the phone rarely rings more than twice. We all have our moments, but for the most part this is a wonderful group of hard working people.” I saw a couple of mouths open. The look on their faces…priceless.

As a guy who does not actually make a product, I continue to be amazed by the work all of you do in the quality field. As quality professionals, we all realize when things are going well the phone never rings. Only when things get tough do people track us down. All endeavors have their ups and downs. At times, it can be stressful to the point of wondering why we decided to take this path. I say hang in there and be proud. If we just take a step back and view the scene, it is an admirable and important role you all fill in getting people from point A to B in as safe and comfortable a way as possible. You are the conscience of the organization, assuring the quality and safety the average American has come to expect. My hat is off to all of you, and I wish your family and friends a fantastic holiday season.