When I tell people what I do, the topic of culture comes up a lot. And let’s be honest - it’s juicy. From Google, Tesla, and Yahoo to work-life balance, paid time off, and unlimited perks, company culture is in business news regularly. On top of that, research continues to be released stating that culture impacts (both positively and negatively) an organization’s bottom lines.Although people cerebrally understand culture’s importance, people tend to talk about culture as something external. For instance, a statement I often encounter when we are discussing fierce is: "My culture doesn’t encourage transparent, direct communication, so I can’t have those kinds of conversations with my executive team right now." Sometimes that also sounds like, "If my company’s culture was different, I would be different." Or "If other people modeled those behaviors, I could do them too." What I hear is "Look at those other people over there - no, not me, not here."Newsflash: Culture doesn’t live outside of you. That’s not how it works. You are the culture. You choose what it looks like every day. You choose it in the conversations you have. And even more so if you lead people, you model and reinforce those choices each time you interact with others.This week’s fierce tip is to take responsibility for your impact on your organization’s culture. Ask yourself: What kind of culture do I want to be a part of? What does that require of me?Yes, there will be issues that are legitimately outside of your control or purview. However, you have as much responsibility as everyone else to steer the culture.So as seducing as pointing the finger can be at times, when you are unhappy with the culture, make sure you throw some of that blame your way.The post Fierce Tip of the Week: Stop Your Excuses. You are the Culture. appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

27% of millennials are already managers. (source) Advice from Diana Oreck, Vice President of The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: I often tease the President of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., Mr. Herve Humler, and say, "I have the best job in the company, not you!" In my position as Vice President of The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, it is an absolute honor to share the best practices of The Ritz-Carlton in the areas of culture transformation, legendary service and leadership with all different types of industries and companies. Over the last 18 months, the topic of millennials has come up at virtually every class, presentation and symposium. The thing that has struck me most vividly is there seems to be a significant amount of managers who are actually afraid of millennials. The hue and cry seems to be "but they are so different." I think some of us are suffering from editing history. Every generation has been different. Being frightened of millennials and throwing our hands up in despair is not constructive. After all, they are the future leaders of the world. In fact 27 percent of them are already managers. Many millennials are accused of having a sense of entitlement and are unrealistic about the time frame in which they expect a promotion. If we are being truthful, their parents and schools helped create this entitlement when they told the millennials they could be anything they wanted and gave them a trophy just for participating. Next time a millennial approaches and wants to know when their unrealistic promotion will be, I recommend this approach. Do not be dismissive or frightened Praise them on their passion and ambition Explain they must still get some real-world experience Explain the pathway they will need to take to attain their next promotion and approximate time frame I have found millennials to be very reasonable once they understand the "why" of situations. At The Ritz-Carlton one of our Key Success Factors reads, "Inspire Exceptional Ladies and Gentlemen." Developing millennials and growing their skills within appropriate time frames to mold them into terrific future senior leaders is definitely …."our pleasure." The millennials have been arguably referred to as "the next best generation of all." Let’s treat them that way. ∞ Join us for a one-day symposium on November 12th. The day includes a Ritz-Carlton executive panel with Herve Humler, president & chief operations officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. The Blog Post Significant Stat: Millennials are already Managers appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

The Internet of Things (IOT) is all the rage right now. Certainly it’s exciting. But is there something even bigger just as close, if not closer? I think so. You probably know that the Internet had been running out of IP addresses. So natch that’s been fixed, with the new IPv6 schema. With this new approach we get a lot of IP addresses. I know you want to know how many, so here you are:   340,282,366,920,938,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 unique IP addresses. That’s 340 trillion, 282 billion, 366 million, 920 thousand, 938 — followed by 24 zeroes. I knew you’d be interested. So now we’ve got a lot of things we can put addresses on. Certainly enough for the (IOT). Although that’s fashionable at the moment, for me that’s not the really interesting application of all these new addresses. We’ve now got enough addresses, and then some, so that we can all - that is, each of us individually - have our own IP address! Think of it: I can now be 162.33.5049 instead of Ted Prince. Think what you can do with that! Not the Internet of Things; instead the Internet of Brains (IOB) Maybe your personal IP address is physically in a subcutaneous chip. Or your Fitbit band on your wrist. Or your iWatch. So now we truly have a handle on you. Seriously, if everyone in the world can have their own IP address it opens up new and revolutionary possibilities. I can know where you are, instead of your phone. I can send everything you need to receive to your IP address instead of an email which might have been discontinued, your Twitter handle or your WhatsApp moniker. But even that’s kind of boring compared with some of the things you can imagine. Maybe if you have some unique knowledge I can reference you through your IP address in citations and references. Or I can link you into multi-person networks in real-time just by IP address. So now we have a true online real-time personal network. It gets better. I can do this with particular subject matter. Now I get a LinkedIn-style group that is online real-time knowledge sharing. You get where this is going right? In science fiction we have always had the fantasy that the whole human race can be linked into one massive brain. It’s always looked like, well, science fiction. But having all these IP addresses coupled with communicating chips like those used for the IOT changes the equation entirely. Suddenly a globally-linked intelligence becomes possible, even relatively easy, at least from a technical point of view. And it’s not just about sharing intelligence and brains. It’s also about sharing emotions and feelings. So that we get the possibility of sharing feelings on a countrywide or even global basis as well as thoughts and insights. Of course there is infinity of issues - privacy, the potential for harm not to mention politics and so on. So that poses a bunch of challenges that are now clearly much bigger than the technical ones. But the IPv6 plan looks to most people like an arcane technical issue that only geeks should have an interest in. Instead IPv6 might have been the final stepping stone to constructing a global unified intelligence.                Read More

Research shows that ROI is becoming the fastest growing metric and a favorite among executives, particularly when they invest in major programs. Now is the time to develop serious capability and show the impact and ROI for selected projects and programs. ROI Institute is pleased to announce that there are now six ways to participate in ROI Certification, ultimately earning the designation of Certified ROI Professional (CRP). Whether you are an individual looking to enhance your capability or an organization looking to implement a measurement culture, there is an option to fit your needs. These approaches offer the same comprehensive learning and application requirements as the globally recognized live ROI Certification. The only difference is that now you can participate in a delivery format that fits your learning style, availability, and budget. 6 Ways to Build Expertise in ROI: 1. Individual Certification: Have one person attend the five-day ROI Certification with the intent of taking the lead on spreading the ROI process throughout the organization. This is the most common approach. For more information, look over the Certification Brochure then give us a call at 706-745-0014. 2. Team Certification: Send a team to the five-day ROI Certification with substantial discounts for team participation. Having a team ensures that ROI will be implemented properly and timely. For more information about team discounts, call us at 706-745-0014. 3. Internal Certification: Organize an internal certification, tailored directly to the organization’s needs and situation. This is a growing option. Call us at 706-745-0014 to quickly set up your Internal Certification Workshop. 4. Tuition Refund Program: Use the Tuition Refund Program through Villanova University’s online version to develop capability with tuition assistance. With some adjustments and additional steps, this can be an effective, cost-efficient method. 5. Blended Certification: Participate in a three-day option, instead of five days, building on previous training in ROI. Many people have taken the two-day or three-day program through the Association for Talent Development (ATD) or another professional association. You can also take a two-day ROI Workshop online. To see if your previous experience qualifies for a Blended Certification, call us at 706-745-0014. 6. Self-Study Plan: Use a self-study plan. In this approach, an individual can pursue the CRP designation with a custom tailored self-study plan. Call us at 706-745-0014 to develop your custom plan. For more information on any of these options, check out our 6 Ways Brochure. You can also call us at 706-745-0014 or email us at info@roiinstitute.net. Also, look over our Certification Brochure to learn more about what the program offers. The post 6 ways to build expertise in ROI appeared first on ROI Institute.

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Harvard Business Review and examines why many organizations continue to operate in fragmented silos, instead of focusing on improving cross-departmental collaboration.In theory, technology has sped up the way we communicate and has allowed us to make real-time decisions. New productivity tools like video conferencing, instant messaging, and virtual workspaces promise to create a hyper-connected global workforce. In reality, it just adds to the confusion and most communication continues to get lost in translation. That’s why we need to go back to the basics.Jack Welch’s Approach to Breaking Down Silos Still Works advocates adopting the "Work-Out" process - a series of structured and facilitated forums, bringing people together across levels, functions, and geographies to solve problems and make decisions in real time. The key is physically getting people in the same room, at the same time, and focusing on solving the issue at hand.What walls need to be brought down in your organization?"I learned this from working with senior executives at one of the world’s largest high-tech engineering companies recently, who were concerned that many of their big customer programs were over budget and behind schedule. After some investigating, they discovered that their fragmented, geographically dispersed matrix structure made it very difficult for the program managers to coordinate efforts across functions, keep everyone focused on the cost and delivery goals, and get people to reach consensus."Read the article.The post Fierce Resource: Jack Welch’s Approach to Breaking Down Silos Still Works appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

Imagine if every person acted like a lady or gentleman…. Engagement Tip: Ladies and gentlemen are calm when listening to others. Unhappy customers or patients can display anger or other challenging behavior; however, ladies and gentlemen must remain calm and composed in order to maintain their credibility and discretion. True ladies and gentlemen will actively listen, stay in control and employ empathy—even when facing challenging behavior. As Stephen Covey said, really listening is like giving people "emotional oxygen." The employees of The Ritz-Carlton—known as Ladies and Gentlemen—strive to listen carefully to guests and to each other. They listen for preferences; i.e., how does the guest take his/her coffee or does the guest like a specific snack. They can also improve their service by noting these guests’ preferences for future reference. When listening to a guest’s complaint, Ladies and Gentlemen are eager to own and immediately resolve the issue. However, they must remain calm as the guest explains their frustrations. Keeping a level head and actively listening to the guest supports our commitment to pride in our professionalism and engages our guests, even those who have experienced an unpleasant incident. ∞ The motto of The Ritz-Carlton is "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." This motto sets a tone of goodwill and grace for all. The Blog Post Etiquette & Engagement: Calm appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

What’s wrong with forced ranking? Can you be performance-driven with a human touch? Explore a better approach to manage performance.

Overview In this blog I will describe how we can configure Load testing using the Visual studio 2010 Ultimate edition. Steps Step 1: Identify or create a web application, for which you want to perform a Load test. Here I have created a simple web application, with Login and Logout controls.   Step 2: I created a Test project with name LoadTestProject. Now in the first place i will add a Test file to this project. When you click "Add New", VS will present you with lot of options. Here we need to select a "Web Performance Test" for this scenario. I named it as "SingleUserPerfTest". Step 3: Once you click Add, you will be presented with a explorer window with recording infrastructure. All you need to do is, click the "Start Record" button and perform what are all actions/browse through pages you want to test. Step 4: Once you are done with all the stuff, click on Stop button. Visual studio will convert all the recorded steps into code, embedded into .webtest file. You can expand the nodes and see what all actions are recorded, and what are the requests/responses generated during our webtest. You can run this test by clicking the Left-Top button, but this will be equal to our unit test. We haven’t tested the response of application under load.  Step 5: Now Add new test file to project. This time select a Load Test file from the menu. I named it as "SampleLoadTest". Once you click Add button, you will be presented with a wizard, using which you will configure the Load test. Step 6: As a first step, we will name the scenario, and will setup think time for the profiles.  In the real time scenario, the users will take 1 to 3 seconds between performing one action after another, either due to reading webpage or thinking. This delay will be created while load test using "Think Time" specified below. Step 7: In next step you will be selecting the load pattern. Whether you want to apply a constant load or increase the load in a cumulative way. These variables can be configured here. Step 8: Now, you have to select the Individual webtest(s) you have created earlier, which need to be considered under this load test. Step 9: Here you can select either for how much time you want to run the test, or how many iterations of test you want to perform. Step 10: Once you click "Finish" button, all the configuration will be embedded in to the Load test file. You can click on each specific step/ configuration, and can modify the values in property window.   Step 11: We are all set now. Click the "Run Test" button on Top-Left corner and see what happens. All the key factors will be presented graphically while performing the load test. We can figure-out different factors and their variation patterns under load conditions. Finally after completion of test, a test result document will be created using which you can analyze what are the stress factors where we need the performance tuning. These test results can also be stored into database by configuring the controller connection string. For further details on how to store test results Using SQL please follow the MSDN link below. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182600.aspx You can also download Sample Codes from: Sample Load Test Project

Background You are using the SharePoint On-Premises version. The issue described in this blog is related to Incoming eMail and People Picker feature. Issue & Investigation We’ve seen two errors - one on incoming email and the other on people picker- Error 1: Cannot retrieve the information for application credential key Error 2: PeoplePicker-SearchADForests was not working These two errors are co-related to each other. People picker issue is the root cause and incoming email issue is the result which is coming due to PeoplePicker-SearchADForests. In my case there were two WFE. When the request is hitting the server WFE1, the email has been picked up by incoming email timer job but not delivering it to respective list and library but at the same time when the request is hitting WFE2 the email gets delivered. Event viewer warning message on WFE1 has been found. An error occurred while processing the incoming e-mail file c:\inetpub\mailroot\drop\29bf543301d0ae7b00000016.eml. The error was: Cannot retrieve the information for application credential key. PeoplePicker-SearchADForests has not been working. We get the following error when searching for users…FAIL: There was an error in the callback. AppCredentialKey is the information used to encrypt/decrypt the information you pass into People Picker-SearchADForests.  This information has to be the same across all the servers. In our case, I checked the registry key, and used beyond Compare to validate that the entry was identical on all the servers. HKEY_Local_Machine\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\12.0\Secure AppCredentialKey  :  REG_BINARY Now it looks fine and the permission has been verified. On the "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\12.0\Secure" registry key ensure the following permissions are in place and are being inherited in the sub-keys * WSS_WPG Read permission * WSS_Admin_WPG Full Control As per the issue, it looks like a new app password should be set up. Solution Following are the steps to set up the app password: 1. Get and copy the peoplepicker-searchadforests property value via stsadm command: This has been performed on all SharePoint servers i.e. WFE1, WFE2 and APP server. stsadm -o getproperty -url https://insite.XYZ.com -pn peoplepicker-searchadforests Note: https://insite.XYZ.com is name of web application URL. 2. Clear the peoplepicker-searchadforests property value via stsadm command: This has been performed on all SharePoint servers i.e. WFE1, WFE2 and APP server. stsadm -o setproperty -url https://insite.XYZ.com -pn peoplepicker-searchadforests -pv "" 3. Rerun the password encrypt command with different password: This has been performed on all SharePoint servers i.e. WFE1, WFE2 and APP server. stsadm -o setapppassword -password ABCD New password can be anything you want. I have used ABCD. 4. Set the peoplepicker-searchadforests property value via stsadm command: This should be performed in only one server of the farm, this information is stored in the configuration database, no need to run it more than once for each URL where you want the people picker. This command has been executed from APP Server. stsadm -o setproperty -url <web application url> -pn peoplepicker-searchadforests -pv forest:<source forest>;domain:<trusted domain>,<trusted domain>\<account>,<password Testing and Verification In WFE1, this has been opened: Incoming email has been tested. It started working and delivering email to list and library from WFE1’s drop folder. Conclusion: This error happens when one server’s property conflicts with another server’s property in SharePoint config DB and it breaks existing app password of the farm.

First of a two-part series on ACA and the finance industry Beginning January 1, 2016 every U.S. firm with 51-100 employees will be migrated to the "small group market" for healthcare benefits, as... Visit site for full story...

Guest post by ApplicantStack Your employees are the single most important investment you’ll make in your business. Smart, engaged employees can help your company grow by proactively tackling... Visit site for full story...

This article is the second in a three-part series on the EEO-1 Report and EEOC Compliance The EEO-1 Report is serious business for companies who are required to file by the Equal Employment... Visit site for full story...

Guest post by Saxons Group. The next generation in recruitment software promises to make life easier for human resources staff and professional recruiters, while also presenting a distinct advantage... Visit site for full story...

Guest post by the Association of Workplace Engagement Times are changing fast. What people yearned for, expected and cared about 10 years ago is so different than today. Employee engagement, culture,... Visit site for full story...

This post is part of the TriNet ongoing series about the Affordable Care Act and its effects on small business. Starting January 1, 2016, certain sized businesses, including midsize life science... Visit site for full story...

A special post in celebration of National Payroll Week: September 7-11 Think reimbursing your employees for their time, efforts and personal expenditures is straight-forward? It can be, if you hire a... Visit site for full story...

This article is the final installment in a three-part series on the EEO-1 Report and EEOC Compliance The key to filing a timely and accurate report is educating yourself on Equal Employment... Visit site for full story...

Can your employees track their daily performance, or do they have to wait for a manager review? Do they know where they need training or when they excel at a process? In this manager’s dilemma, I walk through a "Peer Productivity Comparison" Dashboard in WorkiQ, explain how desktop analytics can help your employees diagnose their own performance. This workforce analytics dashboard displays: The number of work processes a single user completed over several days. (ie. insurance claim, IT ticket, enrollment application, etc.) The average time this user needed to complete each work processes. The average time this user spent performing defined tasks (sub-processes) within a process each day. This same information above for the user’s team, so each employee can compare performance to their peers. Request WorkiQ Demo The post Managers Dilemma: How can employees compare performance? appeared first on WorkiQ Blog.

Posted by Christine Schaefer The journey to excellence of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) might be traced all the way back to the company’s beginning in 1999. The 2012 Baldrige Award-winning manufacturer, based in Grand Prairie, Texas, was created that year out of two company units. Those units had "distinctly different cultures, processes, business models, and systems," according to James F. Berry, MFC’s president from 1997 to 2012. But the management team of the new company "embarked on a journey to create leaner common processes, an optimized culture, a consistent business model, and common business systems," said Berry. "Foundational to our successful performance throughout this journey has been the talent and engagement of our employees," he added. "This company spends considerable time interacting with our employees at every level. We strive to ensure that our employees have careers rather than jobs." As a result of this focus, nearly 85 percent of MFC employees in 2011 reported being proud to work for MFC, outperforming a national benchmark of 82 percent. MFC also boasts a high employee retention rate—95 percent and 94 percent in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The company considers its low turnover rate, the lowest in its industry, an indicator of employee engagement. During the Baldrige Program’s 25th Annual Quest for Excellence® Conference in Baltimore, Berry joined other senior leaders of 2012 Baldrige Award recipients in celebrating performance excellence and sharing best practices. As a Baldrige Award recipient, MFC is showing its commitment to helping other organizations improve and excel by widely sharing its seven principles for performance excellence. Watch a video in which Berry discusses highlights of MFC’s success story here. And look for more posts about MFC and the other three 2012 Baldrige Award recipients here on Blogrige soon!

Posted by Christine Schaefer For those who wish to learn more about performance excellence from senior leaders of role-model organizations, this post is the first in a four-part series sharing insights from senior leaders of Baldrige Award-winning organizations. Speaking at the Baldrige Program’s recent 25th Anniversary Gala, each leader described the value of the Baldrige framework and core values in their organizations and sectors. Cargill Kitchen Solutions President Chris Roberts expressed appreciation for the positive impact of Baldrige principles in both his professional life and his personal life. Roberts’s Cargill business unit—formerly known as Sunny Fresh Foods—received the Baldrige Award in both 1999 and 2005. Cargill Kitchen Solutions President Chris Roberts Speaking of the variety of U.S. organizations today that produce high-quality products and services while guided by use of the Baldrige framework for performance excellence, Roberts remarked, "Who would have ever thought that the worlds of fiber optics, dental and financial products, health care, and academia could be influenced by a simple yet powerful idea cultivated each year by both the Baldrige Program and NIST?" Roberts recalled that while he has benefited for years in his personal life from use of products such as cars and computing technologies of companies with a Baldrige-based focus on quality, he was formally introduced to the Baldrige principles just seven years ago as a member of the Cargill Corn Milling business leadership team. At that time, "I began to learn the formal practices of an organization that went about its daily business of buying, converting, making, moving, innovating, and selling all based on the Baldrige principles," he said. "Suddenly I understood the secret sauce, as some would call it, as I viewed the power of an engaged team linked to a thoughtful strategy which came to life countless times each day in factories, terminals, offices, and facilities, day and night, in good weather and bad, no matter what." Roberts then recalled his participation in the self-assessment and award application process that resulted in Cargill Corn Milling’s becoming a Baldrige Award recipient in 2008. "I realize that I’m a much better leader today," he said, "because I deeply understand the value of a business built on a sound mission, vision, and values; visionary leadership; relentless customer focus; clear and transparent communication; continuous learning; agility; thoughtful planning; and innovation—all linked to the power of a team of engaged stakeholders who are responsible citizens in the communities in which they both work and live." "I get to live those values each day as the current president of Cargill Kitchen Solutions, a two-time Baldrige Awardee," he added. Roberts challenged Baldrige Award recipients both past and present to "stay the course" because "there is a consumer, a patient, a student, a neighbor, or a close friend whose lives we are impacting every day." "Each day, if we relentlessly live by these principles" and "do what we do best," he suggested, "one of them could be standing before us [as leader of a Baldrige Award recipient] 25 years from today." Inspired by Roberts, I hope that I have the privilege 25 years from today of being at a Baldrige Award ceremony where leaders of role-model organizations of every sector tell of how the Criteria have helped sustain them and the entire U.S. economy at world-class levels of excellence. The next post in this series will share insights on excellence from Terry Holliday, former superintendent of Iredell-Statesville (NC) Schools, a 2008 Baldrige Award recipient. See and share more photos and a slide show from the Baldrige 25th anniversary gala and award ceremony.

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey One of my favorite educators was my high school American history teacher because I remember really learning something. Rather than taking primarily written tests, we often reenacted notable moments in history, and our tests came from how well we understood the issues facing our characters. In my mind, it allowed us to learn versus just memorize the history, and the assumption was that no matter the complexities of the situation, we all could learn. Today, one of my favorite educators to hear speak is Terry Holliday, commissioner of education at the Kentucky Department of Education. And lucky for me, he is also a Baldrige-Award-winning superintendent from Iredell-Statesville Schools who recently presented at the Baldrige 25th Anniversary Gala. Educators must have "a firm belief that every child can achieve and have a brighter tomorrow" said Holliday. If you believe that every child can learn, and with the help of tools such as the Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, students who might otherwise not graduate can turn their lives around. Holliday told the story of watching a young lady in Statesville, North Carolina, who had two children and who had originally dropped out of high school accept her high school diploma. "She was headed toward a life of drugs, crime, and public support," said Holliday. "Our team [members] at [Baldrige Award recipient Iredell-Statesville] analyzed the data. They developed an approach for an alternative program. They built relationships with students and parents. They created day-to-day processes and capacity building throughout the organization. The end result was that this young lady was the first in her family to graduate from high school, and a life headed toward hardship had been redirected toward a life filled with pride and productivity." Holliday said this systematic, data-driven approach to help this young lady and others like her was due to the school system’s use of the Baldrige Education Criteria. "I truly believe that children have benefited due to the Baldrige Criteria," he said. Now the commisioner of education in Kentucky, Holliday said that using a systemic and systematic approach, Kentucky became the first state in the nation to adopt common course standards that ensure benchmarking against international compeittors. "Kentucky was the first state to implement these standards, assess these standards, and get a waiver from [No Child Left Behind] based on these standards," he said. "In the past, many students who graduated from high school in Kentucky had to take remediation courses in college. Only one in three kids were ready for college and careers. We’ve now raised that bar in Kentucky and we’re going to double that percentage by 2015." Holliday also shared his experience attending Baldrige training and serving as an examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. "There were two things that I learned that I would never forget: ADLI and LeTCI [evaluation factors used by Baldrige examiners: approach-deployment-learning-integration and levels-trends-comparisons-integration]. So I used those throughout my career and use them today in education. We’re always looking for a silver bullet. We think if we just get a little bit more money or this new program in place we can solve all of the academic problems of all of our children, but the only silver bullet I ever found was hard work; systemic, systematic approaches; done with data-driven decision making, so you have to have humility and feedback loops, and you’ve got to integrate what you learned throughout the K-12 system." At the conclusion of his Baldrige 25th-anniversary speech, Holliday said, "I thank you, the Baldrige community, for providing this educator and many like me, inspiration, determination, knowledge, skills, and a firm belief that every child can achieve and have a brighter tomorrow. . . . So on behalf of the thousands of potential drop outs from Iredell-Statesville Schools who have graduated; on behalf of the hundreds of Special Education, African American, and Hispanic children at Iredell-Statesville who have closed the achievement gap. . . . and on behalf of 4,500 additional high school graduates in the class of 2012 in Kentucky who graduated high school and were career ready, I say happy twenty-fifth and I’ll see you all for the fiftieth." For me, this focus that each and every child can achieve and learn is as inspirational as it gets in education. What has been your inspiration for helping children learn? This post is the second in a four-part series providing highlights from senior leaders’ speeches at the Baldrige Program’s 25th anniversary celebration. See and share more photos and a slide show from the 25th anniversary gala and award ceremony.    

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey This post is part of a series sharing insights from senior leaders of Baldrige Award-winning organizations. Speaking at the Baldrige Program’s recent 25th Anniversary Gala, each leader described the value of the Baldrige framework and core values in their organizations and sectors. To achieve excellence in your nonprofit organization, whether a government or charity or other type of nonprofit, "simply do what makes sense for your business" was the advice of Bruce Kintz, president of Concordia Publishing House (CPH), a 2011 Baldrige Award recipient. Thirteen years ago, when its quality journey began, CPH, the publishing arm of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, had "difficulties." Kintz, whose experience came from the aerospace industry, grew up in the church body and was proud, he said, when he was asked to come serve and turn the publishing house around; "I thought what better time than now." "When I . . . came to Concordia Publishing House, we had difficulties," Kintz said. "There were internal process issues, external customer issues, and I had been trained to be a good engineer, to design solutions . . . supervise, unionize workers, etcetera. But I had taken a lot of leadership courses, so I had remembered that [the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence] was part and parcel of my training, my background, my development, my success. When I thought about this nonprofit publisher [CPH] though, I wasn’t quite sure if I could do it. We were literally at zero. No understanding of the Criteria. We started at ground zero." Kintz said it was his and CPH’s greatest desire to best serve their customers—the pastors and the teachers who teach our children. "They are the reason we embarked on the journey, and our customers will be the reason that we continue to follow this journey long into the future," he added. "I can safely tell you that the Criteria changed the future of CPH. We [now] operate with an efficiency that we never had before, with a precision that we never had before. . . . Our pursuit of learning and sharing and growing together . . . the job is never done. It’s not easy to win [the Baldrige Award], but it’s not about the award. It’s about the growth, the continuous improvement, the journey—no small task but it’s worth it." During its 13-year journey from an organization with difficulties to a role-model nonprofit organization, Kintz said CPH saw slow, steady progress using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence as a guide. We used "no stop watch," he said. "We simply said ‘Let’s do what makes sense for our business.’ We all watch our industries shift, our customers’ needs evolve, and our competitors struggle and downsize. But standing strong, our commitment to the Baldrige Criteria has ensured that we’re not only going to survive but that we will thrive." Kintz added his recommendation of the Baldrige Criteria for use by nonprofit organizations, "Baldrige winners see improvements in the quality of their products and services, which leads to productivity in their workforce, a strategic plan for sustainability. This all results in customer loyalty. Isn’t . . . that what it is all about?" This post is the third in a four-part series providing highlights from senior leaders’ speeches at the Baldrige Program’s 25th anniversary celebration. See and share more photos and a slide show from the 25th Anniversary Gala and award ceremony.

Posted by Christine Schaefer As the senior leader of a Baldrige Award-winning health care organization, Rulon Stacey has often spoken passionately of the positive impacts of adopting the Baldrige framework for performance excellence. He did so again at this year’s silver anniversary gala of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. "I can stand before you and say without a doubt that there are people alive today who otherwise would not have been were it not for the Baldrige journey of the Poudre Valley Health System," he told the gala audience. University of Colorado Health President Rulon Stacey Stacey led Poudre Valley Health System to earn a Baldrige Award in 2008. Today he is president of University of Colorado Health, which now includes Poudre Valley Health System. He also currently chairs the Baldrige Program’s Board of Overseers. At the Baldrige anniversary gala, Stacey spoke of Poudre Valley Health System’s journey to excellence through use of the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence beginning in 1997. "Baldrige helped us find a new path; we learned not to be content with average," he said. After noting that the Baldrige Program "continues to transform our nation’s businesses, schools, and health care," Stacey reflected on how much the world has changed over the 25 years of the Baldrige Program, especially in health care. He described how his own organization has grown over those years "from a small community hospital serving a single town in northern Colorado" to a "nationally recognized, academic health system with 5 hospitals and more than 15,000 employees, spanning 200 miles from Wyoming to southern Colorado." "None of us in health care or any other industry can predict what the next 25 years will bring," said Stacey, "but we know that we are going to need visionary leaders who guide and sustain their organization, understand their customers, and strategically plan for the future." "We are going to need an engaged workforce and effective processes to deliver customer value and drive organizational success," he said. "We are going to need ways to manage and mine the ever-increasing amount of data information bombarding us in the digital age," he added, "so that we can deliver world-class products, world-class services, delight our customers, and provide the financial return we need to ensure sustainability." "Isn’t that in the end the Baldrige framework? Isn’t that what we have been developing for 25 years?" he asked. "Time and time again we have all witnessed the power of that framework," he said. "We’ve witnessed it as it transformed struggling organizations into national role models or set an average organization on the road to excellence." How has your organization benefitted from use of the Baldrige framework? This post is the fourth in a four-part series providing highlights from senior leaders’ speeches at the Baldrige Program’s 25th anniversary celebration. See and share more photos and a slide show from the 25th anniversary gala and award ceremony.

Posted by Christine Schaefer This summer witnessed the founding of Performance Excellence Northwest (PENW).  This regional Baldrige-based program is now ready to serve U.S. businesses and nonprofit, education, and health care organizations located in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. With this development, the total number of state, regional, and sector-specific programs throughout the United States that belong to the Alliance for Performance Excellence has reached 35. In addition, the Alliance recently welcomed its first internationally based member program: Max India Group. The Alliance is a key partner with the national Baldrige Performance Excellence Program in what has become known in recent years as the Baldrige Enterprise. The Alliance member programs, like the national program, administer awards and provide assessments and feedback to help organizations improve their performance using the Criteria for Performance Excellence. Thus, in addition to greatly extending the reach of the national Baldrige Program in helping organizations improve their performance, the Alliance programs serve as an applicant feeder system for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the prestigious, Presidential prize for excellence. "We are excited and appreciate this opportunity to better support our current customers and develop regional partnerships to support excellence in the Pacific Northwest," says Deborah Ameen, newly appointed executive director of PENW. Ameen is a national Baldrige examiner who also has been a judge in the California Council for Excellence (CCE) and in the previous Washington state program. "It is important that we can learn and share with such a group of high-performing Baldrige-focused organizations that the Alliance represents," says Prashant Hoskote, senior director of quality and service excellence at Max India Group. "The Alliance is an elite group of professionals with whom we share a common journey." As noted on Blogrige before, the network of Baldrige-based Alliance programs helps ensure excellence in U.S. organizations of every size and sector from "sea to shining sea." We hope to see this network continue growing excellence across America and beyond, benefitting residents of far-flung cities and states, customers of service and manufacturing businesses and nonprofits alike, patients of health care organizations large and small, and students in schools from the earliest grades through college.