Editorial

Just like an Arrow

The start of the New Year is the ideal time to

reflect on our direction and the means by which

we plan to travel. In other words, it’s the right

time to be thinking about our objectives, which

may be very specific written statements or just

‘fuzzy goals’, a vague outline of what we would

like to achieve. Whether specific or fuzzy, the

process of setting goals is a valuable exercise as

‘intention shapes action’; without clear intent

there is little hope of any action toward a

desired outcome. How we travel on the year’s

journey – how we improve our effectiveness in

Quality Assurance (and in all aspects of our

lives for that matter) – is a question that is more

pertinent than ever, as our professional and

personal lives fill up with increasing commit-

ments and distractions [1]. In this world of 24/7

connectivity, a brief glimpse of any mass transit

waiting area serves as a reminder of the extent

to which we are at the mercy of our Blackberries

and other hand-held devices that constrain us to

focus on the urgent (or falsely urgent) task at

hand. From my point-of-view it is noticeable

that the majority of us are struggling to make a

positive impact and overcome impediments to

progress and growth. How do we empower

ourselves to contribute something meaningful

that helps our company, our profession, or our

communities and families?

I believe there are simple concepts that pro-

vide an answer to this question, and the Quality

Assurance Journal has its role to play. Part of the

answer is using our energy in the most effective

and focused way to attain our goals. An analogy

to an archer shooting a bow and arrow provides

a useful model for this; there are two ways to

generate the energy needed to propel the arrow

with sufficient velocity to hit its target – the bow

can be moved further in front of the archer or

the string can be stretched back. Moving the

bow forward, pointing to the direction we wish

to fire the arrow, is analogous to goal-setting;

direction is set, and tension is created between

our present situation and the required objective,

creating an inertia toward the goal. In the

workplace it helps to have objectives as written

documents, for example committing to a written

‘QA Plan’, so that everyone has a clear idea of

the department’s direction. Without the tension

created by visualizing and goal-setting it is more

likely that the team will drift, pulled in different

directions by the ever-changing tides of priority.

Like the Greek oarsmen who kept their ships on

course by focusing on the distant lighthouse, as

embodied in the concepts of cybernetics [2], safe

arrival at the destination can only be achieved

by having a clear target. Further, having goals

allows us to use the reactive, urgent, tasks that

Qual Assur J 2009; 12, 1–2.DOI: 10.1002/qaj.439Copyright r 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

sap our time and energy to build towards a

longer-term aim, so that reactive tasks can be

used proactively, developing ‘pro-reactivity’. An

example of such pro-reactivity would be using

material that we have to write for one purpose,

say for a company training course, as the basis

for a presentation at a meeting and a publication

in the Quality Assurance Journal. If we set a

goal to write such an article then the opportu-

nity to use other aspects of our work to con-

tribute to its attainment will inevitably emerge.

This idea is powerfully portrayed in the quote

from W. H. Murray of the Scottish Himalayan

Expedition: ‘Until one is committed there is

hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always in-

effectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative

(and creation) there is one elementary truth, the

ignorance of which kills countless ideas and

splendid plans: that the moment one definitely

commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All

sorts of things occur to help one that would

never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream

of events issues from the decision, raising in

one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents

and meetings and material assistance which no

man could have dreamt would have come his

way. I have learned a deep respect for one of

Goethe’s couplets: ‘‘Whatever you can do or

dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius

and magic in it.’’

Pulling back the string on the bow equates to

concentrating our energy on the ‘important but

not urgent’ [3] tasks that will be necessary to

ensure our projects conclude as envisaged.

Publication in the Quality Assurance Journal is

one of these activities; by sharing our ideas in-

ternationally we start to build influence and

support, others may adopt or improve our

ideas until eventually positive change occurs. The

paper presented in this Journal by Funning

et al. [4] is a very good example of this. Their

study of cost structure in monitoring GCP com-

pliance will help influence our community to re-

act and improve the way in which we expend

resource in clinical Quality Assurance, benefiting

all stakeholders in the drug development process.

Too often new initiatives fail because in-

sufficient attention has been paid to the ‘pulling

back the string’ activities, such as planning,

training, initiating communication networks,

building relationships or building credibility for

a new process. Without these activities the out-

come is like the arrow released by an archer who

has not been able to generate enough tension in

the bow; the arrow does not have sufficient

momentum and its trajectory descends in an arc

to a point far short of the target. There are many

examples of such failures in organizations,

where even the best new processes can fail be-

cause of hasty implementation or inadequate

preparation and planning. I believe there are

multiple areas where Quality Assurance could

benefit from new ideas and different perspec-

tives, and a crucial component in effecting

change and adopting improved practices is

publication and presentation. Building impetus

and support through disseminating ideas will

improve the chances of the ‘arrow’ having the

power to overcome all resistance and hit home.

The Quality Assurance Journal, as the interna-

tional Quality Assurance publication, can em-

power us and serve an important role in assisting

the Quality Assurance profession to be more

effective – promoting growth, learning and

partnership to facilitate change and enhance the

quality of the products that we work on.

Tony Jones

Co-Editor

E-mail: abj@taytech.com

References

1. Jackson M. Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and

the Coming of the Dark Age. Prometheus Books:

2008.

2. Beer S. What is Cybernetics? Kybernetes 2002;31(2):

209–219.

3. Covey S. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective

People. Simon & Schuster: 1990.

4. Funning S, Grahnen A, Eriksson K, Linblad A. Quality

Assurance within the Scope of Good Clinical Practice

(GCP)–What is the Cost of GCP-related Activities?

A Survey within the Swedish Association of the

Pharmaceutical Industry (LIF)’s Members. Qual

Assur J 2009;12:3–7.

Editorial2

Copyright r 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Qual Assur J 2009; 12, 1–2DOI: 10.1002/qaj