--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Quality is not an absolute measure. It…" description: "\"Quality is not an absolute measure. It doesn't mean 'deluxeness' or 'perfection'. It means keeping the promise the customer wants you to make.\" — Seth ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/seth-godin-152_absolutes_quality-is-not-an-absolute-measure-it-do_2061721.png" --- # Quality is not an absolute measure. It doesn't mean… ![“Quality is not an absolute measure. It doesn't mean 'deluxeness' or 'perfection'. It means keeping the promise the customer wants you to make.” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/seth-godin-152_absolutes_quality-is-not-an-absolute-measure-it-do_2061721.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/seth-godin-152_absolutes_quality-is-not-an-absolute-measure-it-do_2061721.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/seth-godin-152_absolutes_quality-is-not-an-absolute-measure-it-do_2061721.png) > “Quality is not an absolute measure. It doesn't mean 'deluxeness' or 'perfection'. It means keeping the promise the customer wants you to make.” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Quality is defined by meeting customer expectations, not by lofty ideals of perfection. **In simple terms:** Quality meets promises. Key Takeaway Deliver on promises. Themes customer focus expectations marketing Mood pragmatic inspirational Type business philosophical When to use this quote - product design - service delivery - advertising Key Concepts value creation brand trust Questions to Reflect On - What promise are you making? - How can you exceed expectations? A Different Perspective Focusing on promises can limit innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Customer Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-wants-1446073/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mean Deluxeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-deluxeness-3937057/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Promise Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise-customer-3937058/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Quality Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality-absolute-3937056/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Inherent quality is part of absolute quality and without it things will appear shoddy. The users may not know why, but they always sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-spiekermann/inherent-quality-is-part-of-absolute-quality-and-without-it-things/) [Erik Spiekermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-spiekermann/) > [Find out what the customer wants and then make it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-perdue/find-out-what-the-customer-wants-and-then-make-it-better/) [Frank Perdue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-perdue/) > [Every customer wants to run on all the clouds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-greene/every-customer-wants-to-run-on-all-the-clouds/) [Diane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-greene/) > [Business is all about the customer: what the customer wants and what they get. Generally, every customer wants a product or service that solves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabrizio-moreira/business-is-all-about-the-customer-what-the-customer-wants-and-what/) [Fabrizio Moreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabrizio-moreira/) > [“What you want doesn’t matter. Great businesses are built on what the customer wants and needs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-kunz-jr/what-you-want-doesn-t-matter-great-businesses-are-built-on-what-the/) [Joseph C. Kunz Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-kunz-jr/) > [Focus on something the customer wants, and then deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/focus-on-something-the-customer-wants-and-then-deliver-it/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Remember,' she'd tell her staff, 'every customer wants to feel like a princess, and princesses are selfish and overbearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/remember-she-d-tell-her-staff-every-customer-wants-to-feel-like-a/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“So what? This produces a onetime cash windfall from inventory reduction and speeds return on investment, but is it really a revolutionary achievement? In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-womack/so-what-this-produces-a-onetime-cash-windfall-from-inventory/) [James P. Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-womack/) > [In our product development cycle, we ask and listen to our customer about what she wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-weiss/in-our-product-development-cycle-we-ask-and-listen-to-our-customer/) [Emily Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-weiss/) > [We know what the customer wants, and so we're buying in a totally different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-williamson/we-know-what-the-customer-wants-and-so-we-re-buying-in-a-totally/) [Matthew Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-williamson/) > [The customer wants what the customer wants - when they want it, where they want it, and how they want it. And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-green/the-customer-wants-what-the-customer-wants-when-they-want-it-where/) [Kirsten Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-green/) > [“Successful entrepreneurship begins and ends with customer wants and needs, not what you want and need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-kunz-jr/successful-entrepreneurship-begins-and-ends-with-customer-wants-and/) [Joseph C. Kunz Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-kunz-jr/) > [Make something happen today, before you go home, before the end of the week. Launch that idea, post that post, run that ad, call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/make-something-happen-today-before-you-go-home-before-the-end-of-the/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [A customer is never out of warranty, even if his product is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/a-customer-is-never-out-of-warranty-even-if-his-product-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The media wants overnight successes (so they have someone to tear down). Ignore them. Ignore the early adopter critics that never have enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-media-wants-overnight-successes-so-they-have-someone-to-tear-down/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. 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You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) [Christy Nockels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-nockels/) > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. 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