creating quality

Ronin know that the adventure is in the journey,
in following the path
and not in reaching the destination.
B.A. Potter


It's better to fail in originality, than to be successful in following.

The concept of quality is hard to define, although we somehow very well know when and if something has quality for us personally or for the business we work in. So perhaps definitions are of no use. We all try to achieve quality in our lives and what is quality for one, may not be so for others. Organizations usually are set-up because in cooperating better quality in supplying market demands can be achieved. Organizations as such are therefore 'abstract', they do not really exist in the concrete sense. You cannot talk, negotiate with an organization. You can do so with people who have accepted this abstract concept and represent the organization, they are the concrete manifestation of the organization. Their achievement and its quality will determine the organization's quality. So to obtain quality you deal with the elements and not directly with quality! In such situations conflicts may and will arise, and then personal creativity will go a long way to help.
Since quality and creativity are nouns we may have the idea that they are static conditions. Just like happiness and love these words describe a process. It can never be a condition, it is there when attention is given to what I do. As such they are not a goal, but the way, it is the process itself which should be creative and have quality. It is good to wonder how this can be achieved. Someone who does things he or she likes to do is happy. You can't say "Once I am there or there, I will be happy."
In the Japan of the 16th century many samourai lost their lords and had to fend for themselves, they were called the Ronin. Ronin were a favourite target for samourai with a lord since they were alone, and when defeated there was nobody to avenge them. Thus the ronin who managed to stay alive were the best. One of them was Miyamoto Musashi, who wrote A Book of Five Rings at the end of his life. It is considered the basic kendo (Way of the Sword) book. He says i.a.

To let go the hilt
There are various kinds of spirit involved in letting go the hilt.
There is the spirit of winning without a sword.
There is also the spirit of holding the long sword but not winning.
The various methods cannot be expressed in writing.
You must train well.

Training well is what quality is really about. For example, happiness comes from the relationships I have with others. When I am able to associate with many different kind of people, this is a yardstick of how happy I am. Of course different kinds of people, because if they all think and feel like I do I am fast on the way to create my own 'monohop' variety. Creativity in creating quality means that I realize that by respecting and appreciating others, they will respect and appreciate me. It is hard to respect others when I don't respect myself.
Quality can thus be found in the attention in others and in the things I do, whatever their importance: from dish-washing to writing a book. If I really do what I am doing, there will be quality .... and happiness, because I am not looking out for the result but enjoy the activity itself. Quality need not be stamped on something, it is there or it is not. Few will be fooled.
As A. Lincoln said:

"You can fool all of the people some of the time.
You can fool some of the people all of the time.
But you can never fool all of the people all of the time."

Creativity is created by bringing quality into everything I do, which then creates the quality in my life. It means taking the initiative in finding your way.

The three methods to forestall the enemy
The first is to forestall him by attacking.
This is called Ken No Sen (to set him up).
Another method is to forestall him as he attacks.
This is called Tai No Sen (to wait for the initiative).
The other method is when you and the enemy attack together.
This is called Tai Tai No Sen (to accompnay him and forestall him).
Miyamoto Musashi