Pensights

2013-14 Criteria for Performance Excellence Released—Validated Best Practices to Improve Your Organization December, 2012 For 25 years, the Baldrige Criteria have empowered organizations—no matter their size, sector, or industry—to reach their goals, improve results, and become more competitive. The 2013–2014 Criteria build on this tradition and feature a renewed focus on:  innovation management, intelligent risk,[...]

1. A Message from the President: Insights into Effective Leadership 2. The Principles of Performance Excellence: Baldrige 101 Workshop -- Twin Cities 2/19 or 2/20 3. 2013 PEN Best Practice Conference May 14-15 -- Hold the Date! 4. Proven Ways to Enhance Strategic Thinking -- Twin Cities Workshop 1/22 5. More than a Quick Fix:[...]

A study conducted by Industry Week a few years ago indicated that 74% of companies are not making good progress with Lean – they simply are not achieving desired results. Other studies suggest that about 60% of all Six Sigma initiatives fail to yield desired results, and I imagine that failure rates are similar with[...]

November 2012 Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank recently named four U.S. organizations as recipients of the 2012 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest Presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership. The winners in this, the 25th anniversary year of the award, represent four different sectors, one repeat recipient[...]

1. A Message from the President: Improving How Organizations Improve 2. Lean Six Sigma Forum -- Rochester 12/5 3. Self-Defeating Habits of Otherwise Brilliant People -- Conflict Resolution Workshop 12/11 4. Proven Ways to Enhance Strategic Thinking -- Twin Cities Workshop 1/22 5. More than a Quick Fix: Organizational Change that Sticks -- SE MN[...]

In case you missed it, the world changed about three years ago.  We’ve even created labels for what happened: “The Great Recession” caused our “New Normal.”  Organizations of all sizes, of all types, and in all regions of the US are compelled to operate differently: budgets are tighter because resources are tighter; customers are selective[...]

1. A Message from the President: Changing the Way Organizations Change 2. Managing Transformational Change: Fall Conference Nov 14; Pre-Con Nov 13 (Bloomington) 3. Lean Six Sigma Forum -- Rochester 12/4 4. Self-Defeating Habits of Otherwise Brilliant People -- Conflict Resolution Workshop 12/11 5. Interested in Improving Your Organization? Try New Self Assessment 6. One[...]

I’ve offered these statistics before, but it bears repeating.  Employees aren’t happy: According to Gallup, only 33% of American workers are currently engaged with their jobs, while 49% are not engaged and 18% are actively disengaged. In a Conference Board report issued last year, 55% of American workers are not satisfied with their current work,[...]

1. A Message from the President: If You're Happy and You Know It, Stomp Your Feet: US Employees Are Disengaged 2. Managing Transformational Change: Fall Conference Nov 14; Pre-Con Nov 13 (Bloomington) 3. The Principles of Performance Excellence: Baldrige 101 Workshop 10/16 (St. Paul) 4. New Videos on History/Impact and Name Change for Performance Excellence[...]

It’s human nature to want to succeed: most people try hard to get good grades in school, to advance in their careers, to maintain happy and sustainable relationships, heck, even to win at that occasional poker game or round of golf.  Organizations are similar: they want long-term, sustained success – happy, loyal customers; happy, loyal[...]

1. A Message from the President: Success Often Comes from Failure 2. Forming Additional Roundtables this Fall -- Peer Problem Solving and Knowledge Sharing Groups 3. Want to Learn More the MN Council for Quality (now Performance Excellence Network)? View this New Video on our History, Impact 4. More Information, 2-Minute Video Behind the New[...]

Legend has it that during World War II, Navy fighter planes had a watch embedded in the steering column – not to help the pilot keep time, but to help save his life.  You see: the first step in a pilot’s emergency response process was to wind the watch.  It may sound crazy, but Navy[...]