Pensights
The Power of Why: How Asking the Right Questions Can Change Everything — July 2024
So last weekend I was in the grocery store (I’m one of the few who actually still enjoy grocery shopping), and I overheard a young kid -- maybe four or five years old -- ask, who I assume was his mother, if he could get some cookies. She said no, to which he inquired why[...]
The Key to Sustained World Class Performance: Deliberate Practice — PEN June 2024
Everywhere you look, standards are rising. In business, in sports, in education, in healthcare – really in all aspects of human and organizational achievement – what is considered "world class" continues to increase. For example… It used to take 72 hours by plane to cross the Atlantic (1913); it now takes just over six. The[...]
Say What?? 18 Best Practices for Effective Communication – May 2024
I had a conversation with a CEO of a PEN member organization recently, in which he lamented the fact that his messages were just not getting through to employees -- he was communicating, but the messages just weren’t sticking. So I asked him what channels he was using, to which he replied the normal ways:[...]
Igniting a Spark: 57 Insights from igniteEX 2024 – April 2024
It seems like it happens about this time every year (in reality, actually it does!): in partnership with our friends the Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence and the Iowa Quality Center, PEN hosted another successful annual conference about 10 days ago, this year under the new moniker igniteEX (formerly PENworks). As I kicked off the[...]
Performance Excellence Network Recognizes Four with Award
2023 MN Performance Excellence Awards Presented at igniteEX 2024 Conference ST. PAUL, Minn., April 19, 2024 – The Performance Excellence Network (PEN) honors four recipients of the 2023 Minnesota Performance Excellence Award. The Award is based on the Baldrige Framework and is the culmination of a rigorous evaluation of an organization’s management and performance system.[...]
Igniting the Future: 35 Insights to Excellence — Feb 2024
Indulge me for a second: after nearly 10 years with the “PENworks” label, our annual conference is now igniteEX. Why the change? “Ignite” captures the essence of the conference -- it’s about inspiring change; sparking ideas and innovation; improving processes, people, and outcomes! After hosting years of successful conferences, we've seen first-hand the energy and[...]
14 New Year’s Resolutions for Professional & Personal Productivity, Health, Happiness — Jan 2024
As we start a new year, many of us set personal, professional, and organizational goals. But research shows that up to 80% of New Year’s resolutions are broken, and that the average date of breaking resolutions is about January 20 (that’s why the gym is so crowded the first two or three weeks in January[...]
Invitation to Powerful PEN Leader Roundtables!
The Performance Excellence Network & our partner the Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence are pleased to launch two new leader roundtables in February 2024. The Performance Excellence Executive Roundtable Program provides a confidential, facilitated environment for C-suite executives to share best practices and resolve strategic challenges related to their performance excellence journey. Members can expect[...]
Finding Your Ikigai: Aligning Your Career with Your Purpose — Dec 2023
We’re all dealing with a lot: a continuing global pandemic; significant changes in work environments and other organizational challenges (staffing shortages, supply chain issues, workplace toxicity); and the stresses of constant work/life pressures. The events of the last three or four years have compelled many to reexamine how their professional lives align or harmonize with[...]
Performance Excellence Network & Iowa Quality Center Announce Partnership
Performance Excellence Network & Iowa Quality Center Announce Partnership Collaboration Provides IQC Members Access to PEN Resources, Supports Performance Excellence throughout Iowa ST. PAUL, Minn., December 13, 2023 – The Performance Excellence Network (PEN) and the Iowa Quality Center (IQC) today announce a partnership that expands the mission of both organizations throughout the Upper[...]
Learning from the Future: How to Plan for Tomorrow When Everything Has Changed Today — Nov 2023
I was having a conversation with a colleague recently about how the world has changed the last several years. Think about the fundamental shifts we have collectively experienced, many brought on by the pandemic but many because of other things. For example, how many of us knew what Artificial Intelligence was just a year ago? [...]
Polarity Thinking: Finding the Balance in Everything — Oct 2023
Life is about paradoxes: sickness versus health; richer versus poorer; hot versus cold; better versus worse; happy versus sad. The same is true in our organizations: success versus failure; growth versus contraction; centralization versus decentralization; efficiency versus innovation. The truth, of course, is that these poles are not binary -- they’re all on a continuum,[...]
