A zero-defects mentality exists when a command-and-control structure does not tolerate mistakes. This atmosphere is now widely acknowledged to be ineffective in both military and corporate life.
The results of a zero-defects mentality can include careerism, reduced motivation and stifled innovation. Soldiers or employees will feel neither empowered by their successes nor accountable for their failures.
Eliminating a zero-defects mentality is one of the primary goals of Lean manufacturing, specifically through the application of Kaizen and Andon in the Toyota Production System.
Famous quotes containing the word mentality:
“To many women marriage is only this. It is merely a physical change impinging on their ordinary nature, leaving their mentality untouched, their self-possession intact. They are not burnt by even the red fire of physical passion—far less by the white fire of love.”
—Mary Webb (1881–1927)