The Key to Disney’s World Class Service: Part Art, Part Science, and Part Magic — PEN August 2018

As the story goes, a guest at Disney World once asked “what time is the 3 o’clock parade?”  That’s a peculiar question, mainly because it normally would lead to an obvious answer.  But Disney Cast Members (their word for employees) are trained to probe beyond the obvious so that they can provide an extraordinary Guest [...]

2018-08-22T16:56:00-05:00August 22, 2018|

The Key to Sustained World Class Performance: Deliberate Practice — PEN July 2018

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.  [...]

2018-07-23T22:10:24-05:00July 23, 2018|

Governor Recognizes SDDOT for Continuous Improvement, Performance Excellence

July 16, 2018   For Immediate Release PEN Contact: Brian Lassiter, President Performance Excellence Network 612-868-3519 brian.lassiter@performanceexcellencenetwork.org   SDDOT Contact: Kristi Sandal South Dakota Department of Transportation 605-295-0150 Kristi.sandal@state.sd.us SDDOT Receives Recognition for Continuous Improvement 2017 Performance Excellence Award Presented by Governor Daugaard   PIERRE, SD, July 16, 2018 – At a celebration hosted by [...]

2018-07-17T15:35:34-05:00July 17, 2018|

Performance Excellence Network Recognizes Three Organizations

May 7, 2018   For Immediate Release Contact: Brian Lassiter, President Performance Excellence Network 612-868-3519 brian.lassiter@performanceexcellencenetwork.org Performance Excellence Network Recognizes Three Organizations 2017 Performance Excellence Awards Presented at PENworks 2018 Conference   ST. PAUL, Minn., May 7, 2018 – The Performance Excellence Network (PEN), formerly the Minnesota Council for Quality, today honors three recipients of [...]

2018-07-17T15:32:01-05:00July 17, 2018|

Excellence is a Choice: 44 Insights on Positivity, Optimism & Improvement – PEN June 2018

Quick show of hands: who is stressed?  Maybe not right this second, but sometime the last few days or weeks?  Any stress out there?  I’m not sure anyone is actually raising their hand at their desks, but metaphorically, for those of you who didn’t, you’re probably lying because the data show we’re all pretty stressed [...]

2018-06-24T19:12:34-05:00June 24, 2018|

Lessons in Leadership & in Life: What Puerto Rico Can Teach Us All – PEN May 2018

Imagine living without power for eight months.  That’s 241 days.  Or 5,784 hours.  I get cranky if we lose power for eight hours, let alone eight months!  But that’s what our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico have endured since Hurricane Maria, which struck the US territory September 20, 2017.  And many have endured so much [...]

2018-05-23T02:45:42-05:00May 23, 2018|

The Art (and Science) of Networking – PEN Apr 2018

Ok – quick show of hands: who reading this loves to network?  Seriously, vote here to indicate your fondness of professional networking; you can see others’ votes here (then come back and read the rest of the article!).   While some people (mainly extroverts) thrive on networking, I’m guessing most of you really don’t like [...]

2018-04-16T22:14:41-05:00April 16, 2018|

The Power of Positivity: 15 Ways to Reduce Stress & Improve Optimism, Effectiveness – PEN Mar 2018

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another,” William James, American philosopher and psychologist, 1890.  I wonder what James would think about today’s society and the mounting stresses we all face.  Little stresses, like traffic jams (didn’t have those in 1890, unless maybe you were fighting for a spot [...]

2018-03-25T20:22:02-05:00March 25, 2018|

1+1=3 – The Power of Partnerships – PEN Jan 2018

I’m not a science expert, but I do remember some basic principles from high school chemistry.  For one, if you combine certain chemicals, sometimes you get a compound that takes on new chemistry (like sodium and chloride combining to become table salt or calcium and carbon combining to become marble).  I also remember that certain [...]

2018-01-17T22:28:50-06:00January 17, 2018|
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