Who You Gonna Call? Goalbusters?

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

I am excited! The 2010 Baldrige Award recipients have been announced and they break myths and achieve goals detractors would say are impossible! Here are some myths I frequently hear: A large school district could never be selected for the Baldrige award. It would be too hard to deploy a systems approach across 200 schools, varying cultures, and diverse socio-economic groups. Well, what about our 2010 education recipient, Montgomery County Public Schools, the 16th largest school district in the U.S. with over 100 foreign languages spoken in students' homes? In 2009, 64 percent of their high school graduates took at least one AP exam, compared with 27 percent nationally. For the fifth consecutive year none of the district's high poverty schools is on the state's School Improvement list.

And then there is the myth that Baldrige is too hard, or impossible, for small businesses. Well, what about the three small businesses that just received the 2010 Baldrige awards? K&N Management operates seven fast casual restaurants that have nearly 100 percent order accuracy rates, industry leading profitability, and that offer all 30-hour or higher employees 90 paid percent comprehensive health care and a company-matched 401(k) plan. Freese and Nichols is a multidiscipline engineering and construction services consulting firm that has been debt-free for its total 116 years and has been voted a best place to work by the the Society for Human Resource Management and the best place to learn by American Society for Training and Development. The Studer Group is a health care consulting firm with 120 employees and a vision "to be the intellectual resource for health care professionals." Studer Group disseminates their intellectual property for free to local organizations and offers free coaching and training to local nonprofit organizations. Given these three small businesses, one might conclude that Baldrige is a sustainability framework, not an impossible challenge.

And then there is the myth that when it comes to health care it's either quality or price, rather than quality being a source for controlling cost and decreasing price. Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital has a AA bond rating, a growing net operating margin, a risk-adjusted mortality index of .42, and top decile or near top decile performance on CMS core measures.

And finally, there is the often heard myth that you can't manufacture profitably in the U.S. Tell that to MEDRAD and Nestle Purina PetCare. MEDRAD is a medical device manufacturer with revenue that has grown steadily from 1997 to 2009 and with a lead in market share in the U.S. and Europe for most of the products it manufactures. Needless to say this is a by-product of reliable products and great customer loyalty. Nestle Purina PetCare (NPPC) is a consumer goods company that serves dogs and cats. NPPC's revenue has grown by more than 50 percent from 2003 to 2009, despite pet population growth of only 1 percent during this period.

Are you intrigued, convinced, or interested in learning more? I haven't even mentioned what all these organizations do for their communities. Baldrige is a win-win proposition for your owners, your customers, your stakeholders, your employees, and your community. Go to the Baldrige web site for the full press release on these uniquely American institutions. Or better yet, also come hear their stories at our next Quest for Excellence conference, April 4-6, 2011.

 

Comments

[Julia Gabaldon]

Harry,
Congratulations!! Fantastic! Superb!
Julia

[Jack Swaim]

Great communication! Thanks for your ongoing leadership on so many levels.

[Frank Appel]

Harry,
Thanks for the post. Its always exciting to see the next batch of recipients and their accomplishments. It reminds us again that excellence is possible, and that's what keeps us going!
Aloha,
Frank