Quality is key for any startup company's success.  Customers are always looking for deals- something better for less- and when they find one they want to be happy with it.  No one likes to spend time and money changing to a new supplier partner.  But a malfunctioning website, unstable deal flow, failure to deliver results- will cause customers to look elsewhere, so assuring good quality is critical for any organization's success.  As the old saying goes, "cost can get you in, but quality gets you out."

So, how must a start-up balance cost and quality?  There are a couple approaches.  The first is to thoroughly plan, adequately capitalize, and implement a formal, 100% complete, rigorous quality system, organization, and action plan.  The second is to proceed with something less.  Given that money is often tight in a startup environment and quality system maturity takes time, winging it is common.  There's another old saying, "anything worth doing is worth doing until you can do it well."  So, when it comes to startup quality, where should one start?

There are many formalized quality approaches, including ISO, GMP, Six Sigma, TQM, Lean, and CMMI, but experience shows that there are three critical aspects of quality for any startup:

The calls for action to do something about global warming have reached a fever pitch.  Cap and Trade, potential EPA regulations, and calls to paint roofs white are front page stories that could very soon affect every American.  The idea is to slow global warming before it becomes a catastrophe- or to blame global warming for current catastrophes.  The predictions of mass extinctions, floods, drought, and famine are very scary indeed.

Meanwhile, a vocal opposition to manmade global warming theory has arisen.  Professors from MIT, Harvard, UAB, UVa, Pasteur Institute, etc.. have put their credentials on the line by publishing research that directly contradicts previous UN IPCC findings.  Senator James Inhofe, who was nearly the lone opponent to cap and trade a few years ago, has been joined by dozens more in the Senate, putting climate change legislation passage very much in doubt.  And some scientists are now predicting a new ice age.

The question is- who is right?  On a topic this important, leaders should investigate both sides of the argument, and manage data collection to