igniteEX 2025: Achieving EXtraordinary Together!

The region’s largest, most powerful conference focused on continuous improvement and organizational excellence! April 10-11, Mystic Lake Conference Center (and on demand!) Hosted in partnership with the Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence and the Iowa Quality Center. Time is Running Out -- Register Today! Information

2025-03-22T10:04:02-05:00February 22, 2025|

Insights to Excellence: An igniteEX Prequel — March 20 PEN Webinar

In many ways, what’s required for organizational excellence these days has changed: there are new work environments (such as hybrid), severe talent shortages, emerging technologies (like artificial intelligence).  But in other ways, nothing has changed: we still need to satisfy our customers; we still need to engage our teams; and we still need to improve & innovate [...]

2025-03-03T16:08:37-06:00February 22, 2025|

Accelerating, Achieving, Sustaining Excellence: A (re)Introduction to Baldrige — March 6 PEN Webinar

Today’s environment is complex: leaders are navigating new and unique challenges, as most sectors and industries deal with staffing & talent shortages, economic & budget constraints, and ever-shifting customer & market expectations.  While not a prescriptive “silver bullet,” the now 38-year-old Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework provides leaders of any organization or any community a pathway [...]

2025-02-27T12:10:37-06:00February 3, 2025|

The Best Leaders are Yet to Come — Jan 23 PEN Webinar

The Baldrige community has something that no other leadership community has: established, proven leaders who have national role-model organizations to become honored performance excellence and results-driven, Baldrige Award recipients.  But what is it about them that separates those leaders from most other leaders?  What predictive analytics can we use to "know them when we see [...]

2025-01-02T13:25:44-06:00December 16, 2024|

2024 Baldrige Fall Conference

Dear Cool Cat, Get ready to put on the Ritz and mark your calendars! The 2024 Baldrige Fall Conference is just around the corner, and it will be the cat's pajamas. The 2024 Baldrige Fall Conference will feature two separate conference events, and one full day of pre-conference workshops: October 28-29 Communities of Excellence 2026 [...]

2024-08-28T16:16:14-05:00August 28, 2024|

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 [...]

2024-09-13T11:02:11-05:00July 24, 2024|

Advancing Performance Excellence: Baldrige 201 — Sept 12 & 19 Online Workshop

The Performance Excellence Network — in partnership with the Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence and the Iowa Quality Center — is pleased to announce a powerful online workshop: Advancing Performance Excellence: Baldrige 201, September 12 (morning) & 19 (afternoon). Baldrige 201 builds off of Baldrige 101 (Principles of Performance Excellence (which is offered many times [...]

2024-06-03T09:41:38-05:00June 3, 2024|

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 [...]

2025-03-22T13:22:24-05:00April 29, 2024|

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. [...]

2024-04-29T13:12:00-05:00April 21, 2024|

Insights from igniteEX: A Prequel — March 7 PEN Webinar

In many ways, what's required for organizational excellence these days has changed: there are new work environments (such as hybrid), severe talent shortages, emerging technologies (like artificial intelligence).  But in other ways, nothing has changed: we still need to satisfy our customers; we still need to engage our teams; and we still need to improve [...]

2024-02-21T13:33:15-06:00February 21, 2024|
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