Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control "What a journey this has been," began James E. Berry, president of 2012 Baldrige Award winner Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (MFC). In the 1990s, with major consolidations in the defense industry, everything changed in MFC’s environment. The manufacturer of missiles and sensor systems had to prepare and stay at the forefront of these changes. In 1997, MFC started its 15-year journey of continuous improvement with the help of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and a Baldrige coach. Use of "Baldrige sustains and maintains a succession of learning; a model to stay out front of constant change. It helps an organization to reset if its process are not as efficient as they should be," Berry said. "We look forward to continuing the constant improvement." Berry said MFC provides the most reliable missile systems to people engaged all over the world. Over the last 15 years, 108 events have been 100% successful, therefore creating efficiencies and saving in excess of $3 billion for the U.S. government. Baldrige and its Criteria have helped MFC stay focused on its system. "The Baldrige process has revelations in it," he said. "If you’ve been in a business for a long time, another set of eyes [Baldrige assessment against the Criteria] can literally shock you by pointing out what you missed." MESA "MESA is made up of truly tireless workers who all deserve to be up on this stage," said Terry May on accepting MESA’s 2012 Baldrige Award. "Another big thanks goes to the people who pay our bills and drive our business: our customers. . . .  We hope receiving this award demonstrates to them just how much we care about our organization and theirs." May also thanked the Baldrige community for the Criteria, its concepts, the best practices, and the continuous feedback since MESA started its journey over ten years ago. "We know now that we wouldn’t be the organization we are today without [the Baldrige community]. You helped us become a world-class organization, and for that we thank you." MESA began its Baldrige journey ten years ago, a journey that May said has been a "continuous learning curve," helping to shape and improve the small business. "This recognition, however, is not the end of our journey to excellence. It’s another step—a major step—in our ongoing pursuit of performance. It is proof, to you and to ourselves, that we are a world-class organization." This blog will continue with ceremony presentations from North Mississippi Health Services and the City of Irving, Texas.  

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey North Mississippi Health Services "I am honored and humbled to accept this award on behalf of the 6,200 employees, over 500 physicians, 200 volunteers, and our Boards of Directors," said John Heer, chief executive officer and president of 2012 Baldrige Award recipient North Mississippi Health Services (NMHS). Heer said that NMHS’s core competency-"People Who Provide a Caring Culture"-is not simply a statement; it’s the health care system’s commitment to improve people’s lives. "Working in the nation’s epicenter of poverty and morbidity, we accept the responsibility that our role in our community’s health extends beyond the walls of our hospitals, clinics, rehab centers, and facilities," he said. NMHS’s Baldrige journey started in the mid-1990s. "When we started, we realized that it wasn’t going to be easy, but at the same time we realized that it was something we had to do," said Heer. "Simply settling for second best is not an option in the health care field, and the Baldrige process provides a guide for becoming the best." Heer said the health system continually focuses on its vision to be the provider of the best patient-centered care and health services in America. To accomplish that vision, Heer said, "That’s where the Baldrige Criteria come into play. These Criteria are time-tested and force you to focus on the right things, no matter your industry. We continually encourage those with whom we speak to adopt the Criteria to become the very best they can be. We tell them that the process is hard and will expose their weaknesses, but it will enable them to achieve greatness. And because the Criteria are results oriented, they will improve all of their outcomes." Heer added, "While there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty and unrest in the health care environment today, one thing remains-we are charged with providing the best care in a safe environment for our patients and their families. They expect and deserve all our best." City of Irving, Texas "When you think about government at any level-city, state, or federal-you don’t normally use the words efficient, competitive, or cost-effective," said Tommy Gonzalez, city manager of the City of Irving, Texas. "But that’s exactly what the Baldrige process has done for Irving." Seven years ago, the city did something unique-applying private-sector principles to government operations. "By doing so," Gonzalez said, "we positioned ourselves to weather whatever storm came our way. And little did we know we were about to face huge economic and political challenges in the city." When the city embarked on its performance excellence journey, employees wanted leadership and direction, and residents and businesses wanted improvements. He gathered the managers and told them he wanted Irving to be the best city in the country. "They listened and as a team really acted on those words," Gonzalez said. Today, Irving is only the second city in the country and the largest to receive the Baldrige Award. Gonzalez said the City of Irving accomplished this during one of the nation’s worst economic downturns with no layoffs or furloughs, and it increased service levels at the same time.  "Together, as a team, we shook things up. We broke down silos and built multiple cross- functional groups. We enabled two-way communication with employees and our customers. . . . We worked toward a common goal and embraced a common vision. And because of that, Irving is a cleaner, safer, and better city." Gonzalez added, "Thank you again to the Baldrige organization, not only for this tremendous recognition, but for giving us the Baldrige Criteria to guide us. Looking at your organization through the Baldrige lens is truly a transformative process. And, as we all know, the journey continues. We all are committed to this great country and sincerely appreciate Baldrige’s drive to help ensure America’s continued competitive edge." See ceremony presentations from the other 2012 Baldrige Award recipients: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and MESA.

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey For a leader of a role-model health system, the secret of success is an aligned culture, said CEO and President John Heer of 2012 Baldrige Award recipient North Mississippi Health Services (NMHS). "Create a culture/environment that is aligned with your employees’ personal mission statements. . . . It all starts with the people." Speaking at the 25th Annual Quest for Excellence Conference®, Heer said that NMHS employees come to work every day to take care of people-to improve the health of the people that the health system serves, as well as the health of the people in the region. "Their compassion, care, and yes, even love for those we serve never cease to amaze me," he said. "People have strong predetermined mission statements. Health care is not a job, it’s a calling." He added that in surveys of health care professionals, the vast majority say they got into health care to help people and to make a difference-not to make money. At NMHS, to create an aligned culture/environment, a leadership system was created based on a balanced approach tied to the mission, vision, and values. This is not rocket science, said Heer, but rather, a good roadmap. When he came to NMHS, Heer was drawn to the health system because it was one of the few organizations that had "smile" as a value, he said; in other words, the system had tied a basic human emotion into corporate thinking. The NMHS values spell C.A.R.E.S.: compassion, accountability, respect, excellence, smile. In addition to the values, NMHS’s founding principles (vision, innovation, agility, and community stewardship), which go back to the 1930s, align with the core values found in the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence, Heer said. Use of the Criteria led the health system to struggle with a new concept-what is its core competency? Thinking through this Baldrige concept helped NMHS focus on the most important thing it does as an organization: "People who provide a caring culture." Heer said NMHS has created a servant leadership culture-one that stresses open doors, open communication, and transparency/no secrets; is results-oriented; has "no-excuses" accountability; is founded on listening and learning; includes leader rounds of staff members as well as patients; and has a weekly CEO e-mail. This focus on the values, founding principles, servant leadership culture, and communication has resulted in everyone at NMHS being aligned across the entire system. This could be the reason that a third-party database of more than 700 national hospitals ranked NMHS in the 99 percentile for overall job satisfaction and 20 percent higher than the national rate for employee retention. In fact, the Baldrige examiners agreed. Heer shared that in its Baldrige feedback report, the result of its application for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, NMHS scored in the 90-100 range in the workforce focus and results items in the Criteria-truly remarkable scores. NMHS’s secret has kept it right on track toward its vision of being the provider of the best patient-centered care and health services in America. How has a focus on culture helped you meet your vision?

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey "MESA was a growing successful company before we heard the word ‘Baldrige,’" said Terry May, CEO and president of MESA, a 2012 Baldrige Award recipient. "But something happened between 2002 and 2006 [when MESA began weaving Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence principles into its business model], we transformed ourselves from a good company to a world-class organization." Speaking at the 25th Annual Quest for Excellence Conference©, May said that MESA has been in business over thirty-four years, starting with just one person in 1979 and growing to a successful, sustainable organization of 150 employees across seven regional headquarters. MESA, a leading supplier of cathodic protection systems and pipeline integrity solutions that provides materials, fabrication, engineering, integrity, and installation services, has received the Baldrige Award twice (2006 and 2012), the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium’s 2012 Compass Award, and Baldrige-based Oklahoma Quality Award in 2006, among other recognitions. "I’m a small business owner who has made a career of striving for excellence while building a great team [called One MESA]," May said. Following the path of providing superior value through people, passion, products, processes, profitability, and professionalism (MESA renamed its ‘mission, vision, and values’ to ’purpose, path, and principles’ to create a buzz), the One MESA team has found the value of working together, with revenue increasing from $26 million in 2002 to $56 million in 2012. The key is "work really hard, work really hard, and don’t give up; hard work, team work, and a touch of innovation and luck" has led to MESA’s success, May said. Adding that the small business has had to reinvent itself several times. The organizational principles of MESA must mirror those of senior leaders, May said. "We identify, talk, and model [the principles of integrity, fun, respect, and community]. This is the job of leaders- ensuring that this philosophy is clearly communicated and accepted throughout the organization. But acceptance isn’t good enough at the leadership level. Commitment is the better word," he said. "We became very good at writing [Baldrige state and national] applications and hosting site visits, analyzing feedback, absorbing the OFIs [opportunities for improvement], and analyzing performance. As we learned the value of OFIs , the benefits of segmentation and benchmarking, and the meaning of systematic and ADLI [Baldrige Criteria evaluation factors: approach, deployment, learning, integration], we got better." MESA continues to expand on its primary advantage: its ability to outperform competitors with superior service and quality. "If you want to challenge that statement," he said, "Don’t take our word for it. We just got our second Baldrige Award. Take that, competitors."

Posted by Christine Schaefer Speaking on themes and new directions evident during the recent 25th Annual Quest of Excellence® (Quest), Baldrige Program Director Harry Hertz talked about the future work of the program. That future, he said, includes building the Baldrige Enterprise, which is composed of the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program; and program partners including ASQ and the Alliance for Performance Excellence programs. Hertz also said the Baldrige Program (which operates without federal funding) will continue enhancing fee-based, cost-recovery services that build on its core competencies. Those now include the Baldrige Executive Fellows program; best-practice-sharing conferences such as Quest; Baldrige Collaborative Assessments; paid (fee-based) examiner training (which the program has offered since 2012, alongside free training to prepare examiners for the annual award process); and Criteria for Performance Excellence licensing. The future of the program, Hertz added, also will include "communities of practice and other events with Enterprise and sector partners." Hertz noted that this year’s Quest conference was his last as director of the Baldrige Program. "It has been a thrill and a pleasure," he said. He again thanked the Baldrige Award recipients, Baldrige staff members, and conference sponsors, among others, and said he was looking forward to seeing examiners at annual training in April and May. Read his reflections on this year’s (and the past 20 years of) Quest conference themes in the April 2013 Insights on the Road to Performance Excellence column!  

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon I have been silent for a few weeks as we were very busy with the Baldrige Executive Fellows, the Quest for Excellence conference, and then a meeting we hosted of the GEM network of international quality award programs. That was followed by some travel and the kick-off of examiner training for 2013. I am out of exile and need to speak out about a troubling use of terminology. Baldrige is about sharing and learning of best practices. But somewhere that sharing and learning got expressed as "stealing", when there is no theft involved. As a matter of fact, the term has become widely adopted with almost a sense of pride in its use. However, the information is being freely and generously shared by role model organizations and others to improve the performance of all organizations. And then to make it sound even worse, "stealing" became "stealing shamelessly". It made Baldrige practices that are truly altruistic sound criminal. For years I have listened and winced. It reached a new level at the recent Quest for Excellence conference, where the three "s" concept was introduced, "start, steal, sustain." The pain was too much! I can’t be quiet any longer. Can we please use terminology that reflects the good that Baldrige offers our country and the world? No more stealing please! I propose we use the proper term: benchmarking. And if a three "b" concept is needed, "begin, benchmark, build." It’s simple, it’s honorable, and it accurately reflects what Baldrige is all about. I feel better for sharing the concern and thank you! How do you feel about it?    

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey What do you do when lightning strikes your organization’s industry not once but twice-when revenues rapidly decline, banking/financial institutions pull back, and there’s a national workforce decline? If you’re 2000 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient KARLEE, you utilize the Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria as part of your turnaround strategy.  JoAnn Brumit, CEO of KARLEE, a contract manufacturer of precision machining and sheet metal, said that the organization’s performance excellence journey started in 1989, when a customer brought her the Baldrige Criteria. The customer said, "If I could build a company based on this, I would build a successful company," she recounted. The year 2000 was KARLEE’s most profitable year, with $80 million in revenue. In its 20-year history of 30%+ annual growth, KARLEE had never experienced a decline, never had a losing quarter, never needed investors as it grew from returned earnings, and never had a workforce reduction; however, 90% of its concentration was in the telecom industry. In 2000, the telecom industry began collapsing. Wrote Paul Starr in 2002, "Out of the $7 trillion decline in the stock market since its peak, about $2 trillion have disappeared in the capitalization of telecom companies. Twenty-three telecom companies have gone bankrupt in a wave capped off by the July 21 collapse of WorldCom, the single largest bankruptcy in American history." Brumit said the Baldrige examiners who assessed KARLEE warned in its feedback report (a take-away from its application for the Baldrige Award) that the organization’s high telecom concentration was a weakness, but Brumit said she had pages of data as thick as a book that the telecom industry would remain strong. So, in 2001, Brumit said, "We decided to act like a turtle and simply let the storm blow over." In 2008, the competitive market crisis again hit KARLEE. This time, the global, economic recession occurred across all industries, and banks/financial institutions were pulling back in order to mitigate their own risks. Suddenly, KARLEE, which didn’t even have a sales force, relying on business  from word of mouth, needed to develop a new business plan fast. This time, Brumit said, being a turtle was not going to work, the organization decided to be like a fox. With the help of the Criteria, KARLEE had a roadmap to improve its strategic planning process, adding risk analysis, stakeholder and market input, operational performance metrics, and communication action plans. Metrics and their alignment with the strategic plan became a major focus. "I chose to take Baldrige as my business model," Brumit said. "My team does not distinguish that Baldrige says to do this or to do that. We do Baldrige because it’s the best way to run a business. [The KARLEE team] look at Baldrige as the foundation of its business model." Brumit said KARLEE eliminated multiple continuous improvement projects to focus on the vital few, and this included a major update to its communication system. "When the company was falling, it became even more important to keep employees encouraged," she said, and KARLEE emphasized state-of-the-union-type updates because what was happening to employees impacted families, too. KARLEE stayed focused to weather the storm, Brumit said. "We kept senior leadership focused on where we’re going and the team focused on issues. You don’t want the pilot to leave the cockpit to fix the plane," she said. Relationships with suppliers became a focus, and many extended terms to the organization; those same suppliers are still suppliers today. And, of course, a focus on customers was key. "When many companies are being torn up, overall performance falls, and customers hear this and fall off. We kept our customers intact," Brumit added. "Today, I can walk around and say, ‘I’m in manufacturing,’ and people say ‘I’m so glad you’re here. We need manufacturing in the U.S.,’" Brumit said. "We rode through [two economic crises] and came out a better company." As far as Baldrige, Brumit said, "It makes you think and assess different things." In fact, many KARLEE leadership team members have received Texas Award for Performance Excellence training. Brumit said she even encouraged her son to complete the Baldrige-based training so that he can be exposed to the big picture of performance excellence. Is your organization ready for a lightning strike in your industry?

Posted by Christine Schaefer The 2013 Baldrige case study features a fictitious, small, manufacturing business, Collin Technologies. The sample Baldrige Award application of Collin Technologies is being used in training for the 2013 Board of Examiners, for example, to learn about the 2013-2014 Criteria for Performance Excellence. Beyond Baldrige training objectives, however, the new case study may provide food for thought and an example for manufacturers considering potential benefits of growing in ways that add U.S. jobs. The shifting business model of this make-believe organization might be seen as reflecting developments in U.S. manufacturing today that could eventually benefit American workers and the economy at large. Collin Technologies depicts a Nashville, Tennessee-based manufacturer in the interconnect industry. Printed circuit boards and rigid-flex circuits constitute 35 percent and 40 percent, respectively, of its current product mix, which is necessarily changing as the company’s vision is to "lead circuitry innovation for the future." As the application states, "Multilayer printed circuit boards represented the major share of products until 2008, when the need for smaller, lighter solutions increased." Collin is also a growing provider of contract research and development services—now 25 percent of its business. Those new jobs are based in Nashville laboratories that expanded in 2006. Collin Technologies is considered a small business under Baldrige Award eligibility requirements because it has a workforce fewer than 500 strong. Like many real-life U.S. manufacturers, Collin decided to outsource some fabrication work to overseas plants years ago, evidently based on cost considerations. As the application states under strategy development, "the original business model was one focused on fabrication of circuitry, including assembly. The business model and work system were modified when it was no longer economically feasible to retain in-house assembly and it needed to be outsourced. That change led to the qualification of the two [overseas manufacturing] partners." However, in recent years, the organization—which has a mission component to "sustain society and the environment"—saw that it could benefit by shifting its strategy and innovating its business model. As stated in the case study, "As Collin grew in its understanding of environmental sustainability, it recognized an opportunity to change the business model to be more R&D-intensive and also to develop fabrication processes for sustainable manufacturing." And it states, "This long-term shift will reduce the potential unfavorable impact of manufacturing operations." Two Atlantic cover stories last year spotlighted reasons some U.S. manufacturers have decided to bring back or keep jobs in the United States. These included rising labor costs in some developing countries. In addition, as this December 2012 article illustrates, in-sourcing can reduce the difficulties and costs of communication among supervisors and engineers with plant workers, so that they can continually improve the design of high-tech manufacturing processes in order to enhance product quality or reduce costs. U.S. companies also need to protect valuable intellectual property in a competitive and sometimes hostile environment. And those whose products require advanced engineering, such as nanotechnology, may find it beneficial to locate manufacturing jobs in the United States in order to leverage highly skilled workers, as described in this January/February 2012 article. In light of some of these factors, it’s easy to see the potential benefits to Collin of its long-term shift to both expand R&D services and develop manufacturing processes that minimize environmental impacts. Perhaps such a company would find it in its best interests not only to continue growing its U.S. workforce in R&D laboratories but also to retain or expand its proportion of U.S-based factory jobs for producing increasingly sophisticated technologies. Collin may find it easier to ensure that high environmental standards are met and to manage complexities in "sustainable manufacturing" processes when those are not conducted abroad. So how has Collin Technologies been performing as it has added U.S. jobs? The company’s results data on product quality (its "primary indicator of process effectiveness") show current performance matching or surpassing that of its best competitor. Its customer survey results "indicate levels matching or exceeding benchmarks for overall and the Aerospace and Contract R&D business segments in recent years." Collin also shows sustained improvements in recent years on a key measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. And it reports beneficial trends in financial results for gross margin and return on net assets, described in the application as indicators of profitability and shareholder value, respectively.    Is Collin Technologies realistic? Much of what I’ve read lately inclines me to believe it is—and frankly, as an American, I want to believe it is. What do you think?

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey What’s the key to managing and engaging literally a city of employees? 2012 Baldrige Award recipient and municipal role model the City of Irving, Texas, may have some ideas. "Say what you mean and do what you say," said City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. "Your employees need to understand the strategic plan and know what role they and their departments play in implementing changes that drive the plan’s desired results. You have to really connect the messaging, strategy, and meaning to inspire and motivate people." Speaking during the 25th Annual Quest for Excellence Conference©, Gonzalez said, "If you can engage your workforce and connect mind, heart, and touch, you can fuel rapid change in your organization." For example, Irving employees don’t just memorize the city’s vision to be "a model for safe and beautiful neighborhoods; vibrant economy; and exceptional recreational, cultural, and educational opportunities"; added Gonzalez, "They understand it. They know they’re part of its success and they know how that success is measured. They then can celebrate the progress and take part in continued improvement." The successes of the Irving employees were evident in remarks by President Barack Obama, conveyed via video at the Baldrige Award ceremony: "The City of Irving, Texas, is implementing new ideas that set an example of what a healthier, safer, more efficient city looks like." U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) added his congratulations, too: "The City of Irving prioritizes feedback from its residents, achieving high levels of citizen satisfaction, producing almost $45 million in cost savings over the past five years. I congratulate the City of Irving on the receipt of [the Baldrige Award], and I hope that the federal government of Washington, D.C., can learn from their example." So how did the leadership of the City of Irving guide employees to accomplish all of this? 1. Plan One of the first steps to employee engagement is a good, solid strategic plan, said Gonzalez. For example, Irving’s plan helped to position the city to renegotiate a contract to save money; in turn, the city was able to give raises and market adjustments to staff. "It helps to continue to motivate employees especially when we’re asking them to do more and challenging ourselves as executives," he said. Leadership focuses on following the vision statement and bringing that to life. One way leaders have done this is by creating 50+ cross-functional teams among departments. Each team member learns about the processes of other departments, and this feeds into a succession implementation plan. This is not just a succession plan, said Gonzalez, but a motivational tool to help city leaders identify the next layer of leadership/management. With a solid plan and with attrition reducing the staff by 11% during the recent, national economic crisis, the City of Irving didn’t lay anyone off or furlough employees, who were able to keep the market adjustments in their salaries. A focus on keeping employees inspired and motivated includes recognizing employees on the spot, said Gonzalez. For example, recently more than 600 employees received recognition for delivering outstanding service levels.  2. Give Them What They Need Another step to employee engagement: "Give employees what they need. If you don’t go out and work alongside them, you won’t see what they need," Gonzalez said. He cited examples of working alongside city employees picking up trash. That experience revealed that workers were coming into contact with needles and other hazardous waste during garbage collection. By providing needle stick-resistant gloves and stipends for steel-toed work boots, the City of Irving saved money because workman compensation costs went down. In addition, the City of Irving focuses on employees’ health and well-being with a "wellness program on steroids," said Gonzalez. Employees who participate in the program and improve their health status have the ability to earn up to $150 month. This effort to attack the national problem of obesity has resulted in a total loss of 4,000 pounds by employees and saved the city $26 million dollars in health insurance costs. Keeping employees engaged also requires solid, two-way communication through surveys, town halls, and e-mails, among other methods. "Doing something with the information and making proper changes is key," said Gonzalez. 3. Earn Their Respect Gonzalez cited his military experience, where "you have to win the hearts and minds of the people with whom you work." He told a story of serving in Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a young platoon lieutenant. To earn the respect of older soldiers in his command, he had to "let them know you’re for real and you mean it." To do this, he carried the heaviest loads during tasks and even volunteered for latrine duty, a rather unpleasant tasks that involved burning waste in the desert; it was to earn the respect of his solders and to demonstrate servant leadership. Management should be "working to earn [employees'] respect, and then they’ll tell you more. If you give employees great service, they’re going to give the customers great service," he added. Employees are similarly taught to respect each other, no matter what task the employee is accomplishing, whether filling pot holes or emptying the trash, for example. 4. Look at the Data Irving’s leadership model includes looking at the data and benchmarking other municipalities, with a focus on being proactive for the city’s customers. Gonzalez said a focus on metrics pointed out the seven most heavily travelled streets in the city; pot holes on these streets were fixed in advance rather than waiting for complaints to come in. "In the end," said Gonzalez, "if you can connect with [people] in their minds and hearts and have them touch their results, that’s how to have them engaged, [and this includes] not only employees and the organization but the customer." Added Gonzalez, "If you want to relocate, Irving is a great place to consider." (And for a special Baldrige bonus, check out the van in this clip from the LPGA.)

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon I always take away gems of wisdom from the Baldrige Program’s annual Quest for Excellence® conference. This year was no exception. The gem I will share today comes from Choe Peng Sum, the chief executive officer of Frasers Hospitality Pte Ltd in Singapore. He spoke at the international plenary session that we hosted on Monday afternoon of the conference, featuring speakers whose organizations had received their national quality award. Mr. Choe’s point that "Bottlenecks are always at the top of the bottle" has stuck with me because of its clear imagery and its frequent truth when it comes to organizations. While organizational bottlenecks are not always at the top, I can think of many examples that illustrate the point. I have found the statement to be particularly true in smaller organizations with a founder CEO, especially as the organization starts to grow beyond the bounds of a "small organization." But the syndrome is not limited to small organizations: consider some school systems or corporations with a particularly powerful board or some corporations where individual or family stockholders hold a controlling interest. What challenges could bottlenecks at the top consciously or subconsciously inflict on the organization: inability to commit resources, lack of employee empowerment to satisfy and engage customers or manage their complaints, unilateral strategic planning ignoring valuable input from employees and customers or inadequate consideration of outside contributors such as key suppliers and partners, or a stifling of innovation that goes beyond the senior leader’s ideas. Do you see signs of any of these or other bottlenecks in your organization? How do you avoid them? Consider implementing a systems framework like the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, and start by studying the questions in Category 1, Leadership.