While all of this makes for a great place, it is not the reason that I considered Coburn to be outstanding.  I have worked many places where the same could be said.  What really made Coburn stand out for me was their Quality System and the dedication that all in the organization had to this system.

Coburn Optical Industries subscribed to the Philip Crosby System of Quality Assurance¹.  For me, the reason this quality system made the difference between a great company and an outstanding one were two of the basic principles.  There were, of course, more than two principles to this system, but the two that were so important to me were the following:

• Definition of quality
• Zero defects

By now, you are asking yourself, “What does this have to do with Brotherhood, or men’s issues, or anything that has been referenced or espoused on this blog in the past?”  Stay with me.  It will become clear.

The Crosby Quality System defines quality as conformance to requirements².  The important things to remember here are that we must know what are our requirements for the product, service, or supply that we provide.  In order to do this, we must understand and dedicate ourselves to the needs of our customers.  For the Brotherhood, the customers include the men of Emanuel Congregation, the congregation as a whole, the staff, the executive committee and the board, and the other various groups in the congregation.  The most important of these are the men of Emanuel.  Unless we know and fulfill the requirements of the men, we have no reason to exist.  While some of the requirements may be to provide service and support to the Congregation, there must be some needs the men have just because they are men.  There must be some requirements the men of Emanuel have just because they are men from Emanuel, the difference here being that the needs of Reform Jewish men are different from other men.  There must be some things that Emanuel men in Chicago need that we, in the Brotherhood, have to take steps to provide.  Inside of the men of Emanuel population there are groups, such as by age, profession, or family situation that have requirements that are different from the other groups of men.

The zero defects concept is the attitude of defect prevention³.  Management must convey to the organization that everyone in the organization must do the job right the first time.  This means that we do not accept error as being inevitable.  We must make it clear what we expect.  In order to do this we must have a well defined method of communication that is practiced by all, all of the time.  “The Zero Defects concept is based on the fact that mistakes are caused by two things: lack of knowledge and lack of attention.”⁴  For the Emanuel Brotherhood, the lack of knowledge starts with the concepts I mentioned in the definition of quality.  We must know the needs of our constituency, the men of Emanuel.  From this knowledge, we can develop statements of our mission, values and vision.  Once we have this, we will be able to set up programs, events, and services that all meet the needs of our constituents and we can rework our constitution and bylaws so that they the organization promotes the requirements of our group.  From that flows the common attitude that defective activities, that is those that do not meet the needs of the Brotherhood, will be changed or eliminated.  This attitude will prevent mistakes that are caused by a lack of attention.

Measurement is very important to the Crosby Quality System.  For the Brotherhood, our success can be measured in our ability to attract and retain members, in our ability to recruit leaders within the membership, and in our ability to gain participation of the congregation as a whole as well as of the membership.

In order for the Emanuel Brotherhood to deliver outstanding programs, events, and services, we must make sure that they conform to the requirements of our constituents and if we find that they do not in any way meet these needs, that we are dedicated to adjusting them until they do.  We will not be able to do this until we are committed to understanding the needs of our group, down to the core values and the physical and emotional characteristics of Emanuel’s men.

This post will only have value if you, the readers, comment on its content.  I look forward to your input.

Dave Fleischman

1. The information about the Philip Crosby Quality Assurance program is taken from a combination of the training  I received at Coburn Optical Industries and from the Book Quality is Free by Philip B. Crosby, published in 1980 Mentor, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

2. P. Crosby, Quality is Free, (New York: Mentor, 1980), p 39

3. Ibid., p 145

4. Ibid., p 146

I could not, and I would not dispute what she said, but I did say that it is no longer valid to generalize this in all areas.  Here in America today, most men, and certainly, the great majority of Reform Jewish men, agree that women should be paid the same as a man for doing the same job and that the best person should be the criteria for promotion to top leadership positions, regardless of gender.  Also, almost everyone here agrees that women and men have the same levels of intelligence, concern, and motivation.

However, it is also true that everyone is different in some ways.  It is in these differences that we have the opportunity work together for the growth, improvement, prosperity, and happiness of all.  The sum of our strengths is certainly greater when we work together than all of our strengths when we work alone.

The question is how do we work together.

If I step forward in every situation and grab the mantle of leadership, believing that my judgment and skills are better than anyone else, then I am being arrogant.  If I shrink from contributing in any way in every situation, then I am being self-debasing.  It is obvious that both of these two extremes are undesirable and that a moderation of both is the goal we should have.

In his book, Everyday Holiness, Alan Morinis says that arrogance and self-debasement are two extremes on the same line as the soul-trait humility.  He defines humility as “having the right relationship to self, giving self neither too big nor too small a role in your life.”  He goes on, “If you’re unsure whether humility is a soul-trait you need to work on, ask yourself this:  Do you leave enough space in your life for others, or are you jamming up your world with your self?  Or is there space you ought to rightfully occupy that you need to stretch into?”

At Shavuot services last year, the confirmands each talked about what it meant to them to be a Reform Jew.  Each one of them recognized that an important characteristic is that we must acknowledge that we are not the sole repository of correct answers, that others, with different opinions and paths, are also right in their own lives.  They were also ready to take responsibility for their actions and beliefs.  The confirmands truly had the Jewish soul-trait of humility.

What is true for individuals is also true for groups.  Different groups of people have different characteristics and can contribute different strengths and skills.  Some of these differences are environmental and some are instinctual.  Young adults are different from middle-aged or elderly primarily because each group generally is faced with different needs that are due to the relationships they have with their families.  Men are different from women due to both physical characteristics and natural tendencies.

Just as individuals have soul-traits, so do groups.  For Reform Jewish men, we have always believed that the women in our lives should be recognized for the contributions they can make in our religious lives and should be encouraged to learn and do as much as they can.  In the last generation, this has extended to encouraging them to take leadership roles both inside and outside the synagogue.

Surely, we Reform Jewish men are displaying the soul-trait of humility.  We allow women to have space in our lives.  We no longer try to dominate the space in our lives.

However, we must always remember that humility is just a point on a continuum that ranges from arrogance to self-debasement.   If we withdraw from an active role, from a partnership with the women in our lives, in the life of the synagogue community, then we are losing our humility and we must do the things that are necessary to regain it.

The challenge for the Brotherhood of Emanuel Congregation is to provide a place where men can get together to share their collective strengths for the benefit of the congregation and to allow the Emanuel men to share their thoughts, ideas, dreams, and fears with each other.  Within the Brotherhood, the health of our group is dependent on our willingness to find strength with each other and our willingness to contribute our time and efforts to its continuing evolution. 

I challenge the young men of Emanuel to tell us what you want, what you need, what you can do for each other and the congregation, and to participate in our efforts, programs, and events.

• Between Brotherhood leadership and the Congregation.
• Between Brotherhood leadership and the Brotherhood members.
• Between Brotherhood members and other the Congregation.
• Between Brotherhood members and each other.
• Between the Brotherhood and the community.

We expect this to be a two way conversation.  We do not expect and we will be disappointed if we only get uninamity.

 Your participation is not only welcome.  It is a measure of how well we are doing our jobs.  The more the better.