BLOGRIGE

New Year's Resolutions

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

Like many other people, I make at least one resolution every New Year. But, have you ever wondered about the origin of New Year's resolutions. I was, as I thought about what I might offer up for the coming year. As best I can tell from some quick research, the concept goes back to early Roman times when Janus was placed at the head of the calendar (hence the name January). Janus was the Roman god of beginnings and endings with two faces, one looking back (at the past year) and one looking forward (to the new year). It was believed, at the stroke of midnight Janus looked in both directions and the Romans, by begging forgiveness for past transgressions and offering gifts for good fortune in the year ahead, could seal their fate for the year ahead. 

Next, I wondered (based on my own history) about keeping of those resolutions made with such conviction at the end of the year. Some more web-based research led to the very plausible data that a 1997 University of Washington study found 47 percent of the 100 million adult Americans who make resolutions give up on their goals after two months. Newer research from the University of Minnesota says that number has grown to 80 percent in the last decade.

Undaunted by these statistics, I have made several resolutions for the coming year: 1. To lose some weight (This one fails every year, but now it's public.) 2. To spend more quality time with my family. 3. To balance cheering and mudging in the coming year. and, 4. To write more blog posts about Criteria concepts (like the recent post on intelligent risks.)

Hold me to my resolutions, please. And, a Happy New Year to all my Baldrige friends and Blogrige readers! May we all journey further down the road to performance excellence in 2011!

Interview with a Baldrige Examiner: Meet Paul Grizzell

Posted by Zara Brunner

Part of the title reminds me of the movie "Interview with a Vampire" but this subject's only correlation to said movie would be that most Baldrige examiners have to be nocturnal in order to work their demanding full-time jobs and commit the time they do to our program.  Some of you may have noticed that I've had a couple of posts about examiners (a bit of a broken record, I know--but they are the bee's knees!).  This one is an attempt to showcase what they do and why they do it.  And I've selected Paul Grizzell as the lucky examiner to spotlight.  Those who know him know he really doesn't need the spotlight since he towers over everyone anyway.  For those of you who don't know him, Paul is a great guy and stands out in a crowd--to say he's tall is an understatement. 

So take a closer look at what it's like from Paul's perspective to serve as an examiner.  Then use the "downtime" over the holidays to apply as an examiner before the application closes January 13. 

Q: What do you do as a Baldrige examiner?  I have the opportunity to help organizations identify the strengths that they need to sustain high performance, and the opportunities for improvement that will help them advance to higher levels of performance excellence.  I get to know an organization sometimes better than many of its own employees through review of its Baldrige Award application--and especially during a site visit. 

From a detailed perspective, I do some pre-training work, then go to four days of training at NIST.  That keeps me current on the Criteria for Performance Excellence and effective methods of organizational assessment.  I then get a 50-page application from an organization that has applied for the Baldrige Award.  I spend time in an "individual/independent" review stage looking at this application on my own.  I develop strengths, opportunities for improvement, and a score based on comparing the application to the Baldrige Criteria.  Next I participate in a web-based, virtual "Consensus" stage where several other examiners who have also reviewed the same application come to  agreement on the strengths, opportunities for improvement, and score.  If the judges select the applicant to go to a site visit, I prepare to "verify and clarify" the strengths and opportunities for improvement through several days of interviews with employees at the organization's location(s) and review of key documents.  The end result is a feedback report agreed to by the examiner team that is sent to the applicant. 

Q: So how much time does it take to do that and how do you manage it with your "real job?"  It does take a personal commitment of time.  If you go all the way through site visit, I estimate about 150 hours.  Without site visit, it takes me an estimate of about 50-60 hours (note: Paul is a very experienced examiner who obviously found ways to lean out his process; this number is lower than the median hours it takes to do the work.).  It gets squeezed in to weekends, evenings, during the day when I can.  I sometimes feel that I miss all the good weather in Minnesota because that's "Baldrige season" from April when we get training materials to site visit in October.  If you aren't willing to put the time in, you shouldn't participate as it impacts many people's commitment to the process and, potentially, the quality of the feedback to the applicant.  

Q:  Why do you do it?  I call it my continuous MBA.  I got an MBA in 1984.  How current is it?  Not very.  Baldrige stays current with effective business practices.  I feel that I am always on the cutting edge of what drives excellence in organizations by being involved as an examiner.  Being a Baldrige examiner exposes me to the bet practices of high-performing organizations in multiple ways: the application evaluation process (especially site visits), the Quest for Excellence,  access to Baldrige Award recipient applications on the Baldrige website, and my network of people committed to Baldrige.  That network of fellow examiners is great.  I tell people you couldn't pay most people enough to do what we do as volunteer examiners for the Baldrige Program (so true--so thank you Paul and your fellow examiners!). 

My personal purpose is "Advancing Excellence."  The value I've seen in the process led me from doing this within an organization to being one of the examiners who made Baldrige a career.  I help organizations focus, align, and accelerate their performance excellence initiatives through the use of the Baldrige Criteria.    

Q: How long have you been at it?   I got started as an examiner with the Minnesota Council for Quality in 1997.  I've been a Baldrige examiner at the national level every year since 2000.  It also led me to become a Judge of the MN Quality Award, Lincoln Award for Performance Excellence and the Baldrige-based Army Communities of Excellence Award. 

Q: What's your favorite memory from being an examiner?   Several years ago I was at Quest for Excellence.  I had been on a site visit at one of the recipients two years before they actually received the Award.  I sat in on their Category 2--Strategic Planning session.  I had been the lead on that during site visit.  The presenter showed a feedback comment as a PowerPoint slide and said "We got this comment from our site visit two years ago.  After reviewing it, we thought the examiners hadn't understood our process, but then we finally recognized it as one of our blind spots.  We made some changes based on that comment that fundamentally changed the way we did strategic planning....for the better."  I sat there with the realization that that was my comment from two years ago!  I wish every examiner could hear that kind of feedback on their work.  It made me realize the impact we can have as examiners, and that these organizations take it seriously.  

Q: What are the top reasons you think other professionals should apply to serve as Baldrige examiners?

1. Service to our country in helping improve competitiveness of American organizations
2. Personal development
3. Professional development
4. Networking with others committed to personal and organizational excellence

 

 

You CAN Manufacture in America

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey

What do pet foods taste-tested by actual pets and equipment to facilitate magnetic resonance imaging, molecular imaging, and nuclear medicine have in common? These products prove that diverse organizations can not only still manufacture goods in the United States, but manufacturers can grow revenue and sustain market leadership even in a difficult economy.

Recently, MEDRAD, a Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based organization that develops, markets, and services innovative, cost-efficient devices for diagnosing and treating diseases, and Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, a St. Louis, Missouri-based organization that manufactures, markets, and distributes pet food and snacks for dogs and cats, were honored with the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest honor for performance excellence.

MEDRAD, for example, posted revenues that grew steadily from about $120 million in 1997 to approximately $625 million in 2009. In addition, its gross margin increased more than 10 percent in three years. MEDRAD has also sustained market leadership in the United States and Europe for most of its products over several years and, in many cases, at more than twice the share of the leading competitor.

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company has continually grown its revenue over the past seven years, from $4.2 billion in 2003 to more than $6.9 billion in 2009. The company expects to meet its 2010 stretch goal of $7.5 billion, despite the fact that the pet population has grown by only 1 percent during this time. The organization ranks number one in market share for pet care products in North America.

But please don't take my word for it that these two U.S. role models demonstrate successful manufacturing in the United States. Come and hear their stories at the Quest for Excellence Conference in April 2010 in Washington, D.C. Come and hear how organizations CAN manufacture goods and services in the United States, with increasing revenues and market share. Perhaps you'll learn something, share something, or network with someone to help your own organization improve!

You can also read more about these U.S. manufacturers, and others, on the Baldrige Web site, where application summaries, best practices, and testimonials are shared.

Celebrate Good Times

Posted by Zara Brunner

Several hundred people from across the country converged in a snowy DC yesterday to participate in one of the best celebrations I have the privilege of witnessing: the annual Baldrige Award Ceremony. (Many others enjoyed the ceremony for the first time via webcast from their cozy offices.)

Vice President Biden and Secretary Locke joined the Baldrige Foundation, Overseers, Judges, and NIST leadership and staff in congratulating the 2009 Baldrige Award recipients.   Two representatives from each of the Award recipients were on the stage as their colleagues, friends, and partners made some noise.  Literally.  We heard all sorts of noisemakers--from starfish like maracas to miniature cow bells.  The Color Guard and Army Band Brass Quintet helped set the mood too. 

Congratulations Honeywell FM&T, MidwayUSA, AtlantiCare, Heartland Health, and the VA Cooperative Studies Program Clinical Research Pharmacy Coordinating Center.  Your moment in the spotlight finally came and your stories are inspiring.  As Vice President Biden said: "you set the example" for organizations across the US and demonstrate that there's "nothing you can't do."  You join past Baldrige Award recipients and form an elite group of role model organizations this country needs.  Thanks for showing the way forward to other organizations looking to transform business, health care, and government in order to build a stronger America in the face of ever tougher global competition. 

For those of you who didn't get to join us, please feel free to watch a replay of the Ceremony webcast.   

    

 

 

 

  

Is Baldrige Taking Intelligent Risks?

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

In my most recent Insights column I talked about the 2011 Criteria for Performance Excellence introduction of the concept of intelligent risk. I offered that an operational definition of an intelligent risk might be “an opportunity where the potential gain outweighs the harm or loss that could impact the organization’s sustainability if the opportunity is not explored.”

So, you might ask, does the Baldrige Program take intelligent risks? Like any other organization, I believe we must to sustain ourselves. This year, we started an Executive Fellows Program, a one-year fellowship for senior executives to become more familiar with Baldrige concepts and Baldrige role model organizations and their practices. The new program has required a very significant effort on the part of our staff and our dedicated volunteers. The resources had to come from efficiencies elsewhere in the Program, without the use of additional funds. Will the Fellows Program affect sustainability long-term? It is too early to say, but we will be monitoring the impact of the program among large organizations previously not significantly engaged with Baldrige.

To find resources for new programs the Baldrige Program is committed to leaning existing processes and is also developing a strategy map to better focus our efforts and look at our business model. We are also using technology to help us be more efficient and effective. We are increasing training and development materials available through our web site and this past year introduced BOSS, the Baldrige On-line Scorebook Solution, to help our volunteer workforce save time and improve quality in their application reviews. We are using social media to broadcast our message, witness Blogrige as an example.

Do you believe intelligent risk is a requirement for sustainability? How are your organizations preparing for the future and taking intelligent risks? I would like to hear your thoughts!

Less Money and More Demands: What's the Answer for U.S. Small Businesses?

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey

In the current economy, no one doubts that businesses need to be agile, as the future economic climate is still unclear, with differing views of whether we're in the tail end of the recession or with more difficult years to come. Small businesses have been in the news especially, with stories of lending declining and health care costs increasing.

One thing that all businesses can agree on, however, is the need to have the fundamentals of a solid, sustainable business model in place in order to weather any current or coming economic storm. So how can U.S. businesses do more with less money and more demands? To many, the answer is simple: Adopt the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.

And, just recently, with the announcement of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipients, three small businesses have risen to role-model status proving that the Criteria have helped them not only survive the current economy but to thrive. This marks the first time ever that three small businesses have received the award in one year.

• Freese and Nichols is a Texas-based multidiscipline consulting firm that offers services in engineering, architecture, environmental science, planning, construction services, and program management. For the past four years, it has achieved revenue growth between 12 and 16 percent, exceeding the industry benchmark in 2009 by 10 percentage points. The firm also has maintained profitability over this same period, while the engineering industry has seen minimal growth and modest profit. 
• K&N Management is the licensed Austin (Texas)-area developer for Rudy's Country Store & Bar-B-Q and the creator of Mighty Fine Burgers, Fries and Shakes, two fast-casual restaurant concepts. In sales, K&N Management's restaurants significantly outperform local competitors and national chains. Its Rudy's Country Store & Bar-B-Q restaurants increased average unit sales from just over $3 million in 2000 to slightly more than $7 million in 2010. From its inception in 2007 to the third quarter of 2010, Mighty Fine Burgers, Fries and Shakes increased annual unit sales from just over $2 million to more than $3 million, triple the unit sales of its best competitor.
• Studer Group is a private, for-profit health care consulting firm providing coaching, teaching, and evidenced-based tools and tactics to health care organizations throughout the United States. With a focus on financial sustainability, Studer Group's revenues grew more than 30 percent annually since 2001, exceeding the Association of Management Consulting Firms average of 10 percent annual growth. In addition, on the standardized Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey to determine how patients perceive the quality of care they receive in hospitals, Studer Group partners achieve two to three times more improvement in the same time period than the national average.

Although in completely different industries, these small business have one thing in common. They adopted the Criteria for Performance Excellence as their proven improvement model, and they attained world-class status and role-model results. They'll be sharing their success stories at our April Quest for Excellence®conference, so mark your calendars. But in the meantime, take a look at what they've done and what you can learn from them to boost your own organization's improvment efforts. 

 

 

Hot Off the Presses: 2011-2012 Baldrige Criteria

Posted by Pamela Wong

Here it comes … Drum roll, please … The 2011–2012 Criteria for Performance Excellence are now available here. Paper copies of the booklet will be sent to the Criteria mailing list next week and will also be available upon request. The Criteria versions for the health care and education sectors will be posted on the Baldrige Web site in late December, with paper copies available soon after.

 

The Baldrige community always eagerly awaits the new Criteria booklets, all the more since they moved to a two-year revision cycle in 2009. This change provides stability for organizations as they implement the Criteria while keeping the Criteria at the forefront of validated management practice.

 

Changes in the 2011–2012 Criteria focus on simplifying an organization’s use of the Criteria. Each group of questions now has a subhead that summarizes the content. “With the outline formed by the category and item titles, titles for the areas to address, and these subheads, Criteria users now have a simple guide to performance excellence,” as the lead author, Baldrige Program Director Harry Hertz, states in the booklet’s “Changes from the 2009–2010 Criteria” section. In addition, the Criteria versions have an attractive, updated cover that we like a lot.

 

Here’s an abbreviated list of some of the changes you’ll find in the 2011–2012 Criteria

 

-  The concept of intelligent risk is introduced. (Look for a related “Insights” column on the Baldrige Web site this month.

- Performance projections are included in categories 2 and 4, and the emphasis is reduced in the results scoring guidelines. 

- Category 1 includes, as a leadership responsibility, creating an organizational culture that encourages customer engagement.

- Category 2 focuses more on organization agility to address a changing environment.

- Category 3 incorporates the use of social media as a mechanism for listening to customers.

- Category 4 includes voice-of-the-customer data as key to organizational performance measurement.

- A reorganized and simplified Category 5 enhances the flow of logic.

- Category 6 is renamed Operations Focus to clearly focus on organizational operations. 

- Category 7 is realigned with the changes in cats 1–6 and shortened from six items to five. 

 

 

If you‘d like to request a printed copy, please contact Baldrige customer service staff baldrige@nist.gov or 301- 975-2036. And let us know your reactions to the changes.