HOW would you like to solve problems without spending big money, while sitting inside your air-conditioned office counting your profit before going to the bank? This question sounds like the usual sales pitch from a pyramiding scam.

But no – it does not have to be that way. Since 2002, I started collecting low-cost and common-sense ideas to problems of many organizations. That’s how I required my students to submit at least 20 zero-budget ideas per term in partial fulfilment of their passing a course on total quality management or TQM.

At an average of 100 students a year, that means I’ve evaluated more than 1,000 ideas with about 8 percent (or 80 suggestions) getting the highest grade at 4.0. This excludes those who submitted 30 or more ideas if they want to be exempted from the final examination. But, what’s the meaning of this?

Except for some people in Congress, all human beings have functioning brains. It is a natural and wonderful device given by God that starts working the minute you force people to use it as soon as they get up in the morning when they get to work and must not stop until they leave their office. I mean, if you can “coerce” ordinary students to submit ideas, they will do their best to pass the course.

Can you imagine doing it with ordinary employees, regardless of their employment status? In the corporate world, this management strategy is best known as empowerment where all employees are required to participate in problem-solving and decision-making processes that are normally reserved to management and their line supervisors.

I’ve tested this proposition many times among ordinary workers who attended our public seminars and in-company workshops. The idea is not new and can be found as a best practice among many dynamic organizations. In particular, I heard that the local Toyota unit requires its workers to submit at least two ideas a month. This translates to about 24 ideas a year per employee. Now, can you imagine how many employees does Toyota Philippines employ on average and the amount of ideas that they get from ordinary people?

One disbeliever asked me a question: “Why empower the employees who are more than comfortable by following work instructions?” The simple answer is that management does not have all the time in this planet to commit all the mistakes in this highly-competitive and fast-paced business environment. More than this, the thinking process is not the exclusive domain of those with MBAs and people with authority.

Many employees are proximate to workplace problems. They can generate many solutions, except they’re not sure if their suggestions would be welcomed by management. The truth of the matter is — it is just a matter of creating the right environment so that employees are encouraged (and rewarded) to give as many ideas as possible by making it as part of their key performance areas.

After 10 years of researching and educating ordinary people, I’ve come to the conclusion that the real meaning of TQM is “Total Quality by Maximization” or TQMax. The key word and common denominator between TQM and TQMax is “maximization” with the latter concept having the following basic elements: First is maximizing customer satisfaction. Second is maximizing employee contributions. Third is maximizing continuous improvement. And fourth is maximizing the current resources of the organization.

The first three dimensions are common to TQM and TQMax. But the last one —maximizing the use of current resources (5Ms: manpower, machine, material, method, and “mother nature”) is one imperative that organizations cannot afford to ignore. Even if people and organizations have money to hire additional workers or buy expensive equipment, they must not do it but instead look for ways on how to get the full potential of each resource, no matter how trivial they appear to be.

This strategy stems from Taiichi Ohno’s management mantra “use your brain, not your money” approach. All workers (and students) have the capacity to think if only you will nurture their natural habit to give ideas by maximizing their contribution, regardless of their educational orientation, work experience, and employment status.

Even if you cannot secure many good ideas from people, the mere act of actively soliciting their participation can meet the basic requirement of two-way proactive employee communication, which is essential for many organizations to survive, if not secure industrial harmony.

If you don’t maximize the contribution of the workers, then you are in the eight category of perpetually doing muda (Japanese for wasteful practices or non-value added things). This is what Jeffrey Liker, professor of University of Michigan and best-selling author, is telling us when he created the eight type of muda as “non-usage of employee talent or skill.”

If TQMax sounds like a new buzzword for you, then you should follow me through 2013 when I will be celebrating my 20th year as a management writer. In the meantime, have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to one and all!

Rey Elbo is a business consultant specializing in human resources and total quality management as a fused specialization. Send feedback to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter for his random management thoughts.