“The Japanese word shokunin is defined by
both Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries as
‘craftsman’ or ‘artisan,’
but such a literal description does not fully express the deeper
meaning. The
Japanese apprentice is taught that
shokunin means not only having technical skills, but also implies an
attitude
and social consciousness. … The shokunin has a social
obligation to work
his/her best for the general welfare of the people.
This obligation is both spiritual and
material, in that no matter what it is, the shokunin’s
responsibility is to
fulfill the requirement.” – Tasio Odate
The simple
translation of shokunin is, ‘mastery of a
profession.’ As
a professional consultant to management,
do you believe not only in high quality service delivery but also in
giving
back to the community at large? I
believe most of you, as members of IMC USA, do think and behave this
way. Like the
shokunin above, you serve your
clients and the profession with utmost quality and
professionalism.
And,
as a CMC®, you have attained one of the highest credentials in
the
profession. The
certification process
(its requirements, reference checks, exams and peer review panels)
ensures
mastery of the profession. Now that IMC USA has earned the prestigious
ISO/IEC
17024:2003 accreditation for our certification process, you can provide
your
prospects and clients assurances as to the quality of your consulting,
in much
the same manner in which ISO9000/9001 provides assurances to customers
of those
manufacturers. The
ISO accreditation
demonstrates that IMC USA’s process is robust, demanding and
passes the
international standards. Other
certifying bodies have not met the ISA standard and, therefore, it is
not clear
their ways of certifying a person is met with a rigorous and consistent
method
to achieve a successful pattern of success.
Some
larger clients and, in particular some Federal Government agencies,
have
required that a person consulting to them have the CMC designation. If a company, in turn, has
the government as a
client/customer, our certification process would ensure their
client/customer
they are also meeting their standards of ethics and competency when
getting
management advice or counsel from a CMC.
Have
you earned your CMC? Are
you on the path
to certification? How
do you
differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace?
Are you a shokunin?
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Norman & Associates