Companies that jump on the bandwagon of the latest quality fad remind me of when I taught martial arts. Many students chose our studio because of the rank and reputation of senior instructors, as well as, good advertising. Most students joined to learn self-defense and earn the coveted black belt. However, few students achieved their initial goals and progressed to the rank of black belt. It’s my observation that it wasn’t the instructors or technique that prevented students from achieving their goals, rather it was the lack of continued commitment to achieve their goal. Achieving results from the application of the quality sciences isn’t a question of which martial arts style is better, lean manufacturing or Six Sigma. Long-term success is determined first by the leadership commitment to improve performance and second by the application of the quality sciences.

I categorize leadership commitment in three levels of intensity-no commitment, lukewarm commitment and uncompromising commitment. Of the three levels, lukewarm commitment is the most common and the most damaging. I would argue that no commitment is less harmful to a company because false hopes aren’t created and valuable resources aren’t wasted on an unproductive endeavor. Lukewarm commitment is similar to students who enroll in martial arts classes after seeing a good Jackie Chan movie and become disinterested when they are not breaking boards after the fifth lesson.

A martial student with uncompromising commitment sees each class as a step closer to achieving their goal and doesn’t play mental gymnastics to figure out ways of avoiding a class when faced with competing priorities. A common symptom of lukewarm leadership commitment is a flurry of initial activity in the form of training and meetings that yield no long-term results.

The first failure point is that leaders with lukewarm commitment will communicate vague expectations, such as “improve productivity,” whereas leaders with uncompromising commitment will promise key results, such as a 15 percent defect/cost reduction for a specific process. Leaders with uncompromising commitment will also create a constraint to ensure promises are translated into results. For example, if you promise a 15 percent defect/cost reduction, then lower the operating budget to reflect such an improvement. Or a promise to increase customer loyalty by 10 percent should result in a lower percent of marking cost to total sales.

The second failure point associated with lukewarm commitment stems from leaders that provide seed money and motivational jargon in support of a company-wide campaign, but don’t accept personal responsibility for results. Leaders with uncompromising commitment see themselves as ultimately responsible for achieving results associated with a key initiative they sponsor. Taking personal ownership for results is a critical perspective for leaders to enforce accountability across their organization.

Enforcing accountability is a crucial step in changing organizational behaviors and practices. It’s my experience that most employees will talk a good game. However, they’ll take the path of least resistance when it comes down to changing their own personal behavior. Leaders with uncompromising commitment will use a combination of both creative and emotional stress to dislodge employees from their comfort zones. Any attempt to implement improvement through the quality sciences without enforcing accountability and changing behaviors is merely an academic exercise that yields only antidotal results.

A third failure point found in leaders with lukewarm commitment is displayed in a lack of urgency toward implementation. The urgency of an initiative can best be measured by the leaders’ active involvement. Leadership involvement ensures that employees perceive the initiative as a top priority and not just another meaningless campaign. It’s not what a leader says, rather it’s their own personal actions that reinforce the company’s priorities. For instance, leaders with lukewarm commitment fail to participate in the implementation phases of the initiative. Lack of active involvement during implementation sends a clear message that such activities are not important enough to merit the leaders time.

If you want breakthrough results like a martial artist splintering pine boards, make certain you’re prepared for committing to the classes, day-in and day-out.

John Timmerman is corporate director of performance management for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.