BLOGRIGE

The Enterprise--Baldrige's not Star Trek's

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey

I'm currently on maternity leave, and while I could write a blog all about baby bottles and diaper changes and how long the baby slept last night (not that long!), what I really want to write about is the Baldrige enterprise.

During the Baldrige Program's strategy mapping session, we have been discussing how best to delight our funders and stakeholders, and, as part of that, we defined a Baldrige enterprise as those entities that are currently contributing to and spreading the Baldrige message through Baldrige-based programs and outreach. These entities include the Alliance for Performance Excellence, consultants, Baldrige Award winners, the Foundation, the Board of Overseers, Examiners, Baldrige Fellows, and ASQ.

While on leave, I have not received as many e-mails from other staff, but this has freed me up (as much as a new mom can be freed up!) to read e-mails from the Baldrige enterprise. For example, I've been following conversations on social media groups from examiners and others offering constructive ideas on improving Baldrige products and the Criteria. And I've been reading blogs and other posts written by Baldrige Award recipients and ASQ, the program's partner. I feel like I'm gaining a new perspective, being temporarily removed from the staff e-mails, on what the enterprise really needs from the Baldrige Program in terms of products and services.

My colleagues have written glowing blogs thanking examiners for all they do, but I wanted to take a few minutes and thank members of the Baldrige enterprise (which of course includes examiners) for all they do--for all of the improvement suggestions and outreach.

Please keep the ideas coming and the engagement strong. The Program is listening. Thank you!

The Verdict Is In -- Baldrige Is About Revenue and Jobs!

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

In these days of careful scrutiny of all business investments, a common request of us is "Prove Baldrige is worth the effort." We have data of all types, including data shared by Cargill about performance of their business units correlated with their use of the Baldrige-based Cargill Excellence framework. It seemed one additional clear piece of evidence would be to look at the five businesses that are two-time recipients of the Baldrige Award. Why them? For two reasons: 1. They clearly used Baldrige for an extended period, since at least six years must elapse before they can re-apply after receiving the Award, and 2. They represent a significant time span, reflecting the history and evolution of the Baldrige Program and Criteria. Solectron received its second Baldrige Award in 1997 and MEDRAD in 2010. The other two-time winners are Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Texas Nameplate and Sunny Fresh Foods (now Cargill Kitchen Solutions).  As a group, they represent large business, small business, manufacturing, and service.

We looked at three areas of potential growth: sites, revenue, and jobs. While individual results are proprietary for some of the companies, we could clearly see common patterns and the medians for the group are impressive! The median growth in number of sites was 67%. The median growth in revenue was 93%. And the median growth in jobs was 63%.

What would it be like, if every U.S. business and organization used Baldrige for six or more years? Would they all achieve these results? I don't know, but I certainly would like to know. I am sure we would all be better off as a nation!

You're Gonna Need Lots of Napkins . . .

Posted by Jeff Lucas

 

 

 

Okay, finally an opportunity to blog about something of national importance . . . BBQ!  Now, for the record, I am very pragmatic when it comes to the preparation of meats slow-cooked using wood smoke.  If I were in Texas, I would definitely be looking for a beef brisket sandwich (especially if I happened to be in the Austin area where I could visit one of the Rudy's operated by our 2010 Baldrige Winner K&N Management), if I found myself in Mansara, Louisiana it would cochon de lait (young suckling pig cooked on a spit and served with Cajun gravy), in South Carolina I would happily down a sandwich where the sauce was mustard based.  But let me be clear about one thing -- none of that is BBQ.  Here, I am a purist and BBQ is pulled pork shoulder dressed with vinegar and hot pepper sauce in the style of Eastern North Carolina. So, now that I have caught your attention and potentially started the biggest fire storm that Blogrige has ever seen, why am I writing about BBQ?

Well, for the rest of this post I am going to give into the popular misconception that the term BBQ can be applied to a wide variety of meats and styles as I help you plan your attendance at one of the Baldrige Regional Conferences next month in either Kansas City or Birmingham.  Since there will be outstanding Opening Plenary Sessions at both locations and the concurrent sessions will present powerful best practices from all 7 of the 2010 Baldrige Winners plus many past Winners, I can only assume that you are basing your decision on which one to attend solely on your perceptions of the Que-rating of the particular host cities. That is where I can help.  In honor of the selection of K&N as one of this year's winners we have selected two very BBQ friendly locales. 

Many of you are probably assuming that based on its reputation, Kansas City is the logical choice.   It is of course where Henry Perry made his name and home to the highly regarded Arthur Bryant's and for that it deserves its due regard.  I can tell you however, from personal experience, that Birmingham has a whole host of places worthy of your consideration.  In August of 2005, my son was getting ready to enroll at Tulane University on the day Hurricane Katrina hit.  We evacuated to Birmingham to wait out what we thought would be a just a long weekend hiatus and, as such, spent three full days with little else to do but investigate the local BBQ scene.  So let me share with you the results of our research.

You might want to start out at Dreamland.  This is a place for a big slab of ribs that will be accompanied by a loaf of white bread suitable for soaking up the excellent tomato-molasses based sauce.  They also have the much appreciated process innovation of paper towel rolls affixed to each table.   Another establishment with a long tradition, though it now has expanded to many locations, is Golden Rule.  The original location for this chain started in 1891.  I would say this is probably the place to go with the Jumbo Pork Plate.  You can order it either chopped or sliced, but, come on now, sliced?  Jim-n-Nick's will be your best bet for supplementing your choice of smoked meat with an excellent selection of southern style sides.  Here they include:  baked beans, slow-cooked collards, mac and cheese and creamed spinach. Finally, you've got Moe's Original with just about everything described above, plus a killer banana pudding.  I could go on and on, but in reality you can probably only afford a day on either end of the conference, and you are probably going to want to get back to some of these places more than once. 

So, the point is, if you thought you had to go to Kansas City to indulge your BBQ fantasies you are in luck. Don't get me wrong.  It will be great, and you will be lucky if your luggage doesn't stick to the x-ray belt from all the rib sauce.  But, should your schedule or the location make Birmingham more convenient, you will be just as well served.  You can register for either one here.  I'll be at both, so be sure and say hello, and let me know if I've still got some burnt ends stuck between my teeth. 

So, How Good Are Your Processes?

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

I think we all assume that we have good processes for accomplishing our work in today's competitive environment. We all follow a logic chain somewhat similar to the following quoted on the FMC Technologies web site:"Poor quality results in product waste and a dissatisfied customer. Manufacturing systems that cannot produce on-spec products consistently without generating product waste unnecessarily sacrifice profits. And worse, shipping off-spec products frequently results in product returns, while generating a dubious reputation. These factors not only have an immediate drag on profits, but a lingering impact on the ability to keep and attract new business as well." While written for manufacturing, this logic chain is easily adapted to all sectors.

So, why did only 49% of employees and 47% of leaders of a cross-section of U.S. organizations agree or strongly agree with the statement: "We have good processes for doing our work?" And why did 72% of employees, but only 53% of leaders say that work products meet all requirements? I invite you to speculate on the reasons!

But before you speculate, the results for these two statements represent just two out of 40 statements from our "Are We Making Progress?" and "Are We Making Progress as Leaders?" surveys. Periodically we ask Baldrige examiners to complete the surveys for their home (employing) organizations. We have recently completed that study with our 2011 Board of Examiners and are reporting the full data on our web site. While only a snapshot in time, the survey results represent a broad cross section of U.S. organizations and give a sense of current perceptions. The data are based on input from 173 employees and 294 leaders. Some additional data are discussed in the August Insights on the Road to Performance Excellence column.

So, how do you explain the results on process quality from the survey? And how does your organization compare to the cross-section of U.S. organizations on all 40 questions? Please let me know your opinion!

The Baldrige Budget -- Just the Facts Part II

Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon

When I reported about the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget for the Baldrige Program in February 2011, Congress had not yet passed the FY 2011 budget. I want to update you on the current status. Congress is currently on their August recess and will be addressing the FY 2012 budget when they return in September. FY 2012 begins on October 1, 2011. The House Appropriations Committee has proposed zero funding for the Baldrige Program for FY 2012. The proposal must be voted on by the full House and then the Senate must vote on an appropriation. If there are differences between the two bills, a conference committee will be appointed to resolve the differences. When a final appropriations bill is passed by both Houses of Congress, it goes to the President for approval. As in 2011, until such time there is the potential for a continuing resolution to fund government programs.

With the potential for the House proposed bill becoming the final appropriation, the Baldrige Program, members of our stakeholder community, and the Baldrige Foundation are doing contingency planning. The Baldrige Foundation is committed to the sustainability of the Program, although the current endowment alone could fund the Program for only a few years. The Foundation officers have stated that they will ensure the completion of the Award cycle for all 2011 Award applicants, including site visits for those selected by the Judges in September and the judging process in November. Next they will turn their attention to working with Congress and long-term sustainability of the Program.

Coming Soon to a State Near You

Posted by Jeff Lucas

What is wrong with this picture?  Well if you happen to live in Maine, West Virginia, Mississippi, or pretty much anywhere in the mountain west, it means that you do not currently have access to a state quality program. This can be a major structural barrier for an organization that is looking to benefit from the aligned approach that the Baldrige framework represents.  Currently about 70% of our Baldrige winning organizations participated in their state award program prior to applying to the national program. 

Well, for many of these previously unserved states that is about to change.  In March, the Alliance for Performance Excellence, the network of national, state and local quality programs, put out a request for proposals looking for current state programs that were interested in providing services in these states. Recently they announced the results of this process and beginning in January of 2012:

• Arizona Quality Alliance will serve Nevada
• Ohio Partnership for Excellence will serve Indiana and West Virginia
• Excellence in Missouri Foundation will serve New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island
• Granite State Quality Council and Vermont Council for Quality will jointly serve Maine
• MassExcellence will serve New York
• Minnesota Council for Quality will serve North Dakota and South Dakota

This is going to be a tremendous benefit to these states.  Not only do the state quality programs provide award recognition through a process similar to the Baldrige program, they also frequently provide a wide array of other services including:  tiered recognition programs that allow organizations to begin at a level below a full 50 page application, examiner training and development services, executive round tables and other educational events, and customized training and consulting services.

The Alliance is a critical part of the Baldrige enterprise.  This initiative to provide the benefits of the framework on a local level is a great example of their agility and willingness to innovate to ensure maximum impact of the Baldrige framework.  If you are in one of the states that is going to now receive services, I hope you will take advantage of this great resource.

And for those of you still not covered . . . a second round of proposals is due in next month.