Thursday, April 23, 2009

Fwd: The Spirit of Atzari

Dear Friends of Atzari,

Call us naive, hopeless romantics, or incorrigible optimists.   We believe that, in spite of all that one can find wrong with the world, good will eventually prevail, truth does find its way, and principles do matter.


To the cynics, many of the compliance tasks and requirements are part of a game one must play - as part of the price of entry.  

We see things very differently.

If you truly can't make the case for a robust process, then how can you claim to have one?

If you truly haven't designed a clean room to meet your own requirements, how can you convince others that you did?

If you can't produce the pedigree of your great product's design history, then what is to say there is one?

Having said that, why, when challenged, do you then create a complex system born out of panic from the auditor's unfavorable spotlight?

Why not create a logical, less-intrusive, user-friendly system when you have the time to do it right and at a reasonable expenditure?

When approaching many potential clients, we are reminded of an old Cuban joke about rationing of food in Castro's Cuba.   Plan "Camarioca" - When there is some, it's not your turn.  Plan "Guanajay" - When it's your turn there isn't any.  The joke only rhymes in Spanish, but you get the idea.


When we examine a client's operations and quality system, the response is often that they haven't had a problem, therefore there is no need to improve.  Translation: Plan Camarioca.

When the client is under a warning letter and a consent decree, they want 30 consultants "yesterday" and enthusiastically agree to almost any draconian imposition and gridlock - just to be able to stay in business.  Of course, by then they must hire a "recommended" firm of ex-regulators and pay $225-$500 per hour plus expenses just for the privilege of placing their business in a chokehold.  Translation: Plan Guanajay.


We believe there is a third option -and that is to build a system that works well together and also happens to be compliant.

We believe in doing it right because it is the right thing to do, not because of some external imposition.   It is much easier to plant and nurture the sapling to grow straight than to have to do major surgery on a crooked tree.

But, then again, what do we know?  We're just some hopeless romantics who happen to know exactly how to do this.

José Ignacio Mora,
Principal Consultant,
Atzari Consulting, L.L.C.
www.atzari.com


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