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[Mike Levinson:] Well back in 1994,
crisis management was our way of doing business.
[Sister Mary Jean Ryan:] We were financially sound and all
of the rest, but we just said, we've got to get better.
[Joseph Lannon:] We were very concerned about,
ah, ah costs, our costs.
[Rulon Stacey:] What if the answer
to the health care crisis isn't in Washington, DC, what if it is
in Fort Collins, in Loveland, and Topeka, or Tuscaloosa
or somewhere else what if it's a local solution.
[Narrator] How do you transform your organization
from good to excellent?
[Mike Levinson:] We gravitated towards the Baldrige process
because we were looking for a quality management program
that was holistic in its approach,
um, and customer-focused.
We also felt that by joining our state award program, initially,
we would learn how to walk before we would run.
[Narrator:] How do you know your organization is doing the right
thing - the things that will achieve and sustain success?
[Lameck Humble Lukanga:] Oh you would never hear somebody
saying, Oh man, my product is lousy.
With the Pinon and the Baldrige criteria it gives us a chance
to really ask ourselves do we really have a quality business.
[Brandon Burnett:] When we were able to go to these investors
with a solid document that outlines, A to Z, our company,
that gives us credibility they invest in the business team.
[Narrator:] In order to build an effective organization,
you must assemble the pieces correctly.
That can seem overwhelming if you don't know how to do it.
Without the right directions and guidance,
your organization won't be able to meet its true potential.
[Jim McManemon:] The Governor's Sterling Award allows us
to have the benefit of the processes.
The greatest value of this process is
that it validates the talent of our staff
and will make us a better organization.
The Sterling Award Criteria provided us with a roadmap
that will give our resort additional direction
for continual improvement and define the actions
that should take place to reach our goal of business excellence.
[Narrator:] With the right guidance, and direction,
your puzzle can be completed
to help your organization be a leader in innovation,
achieve customer satisfaction, have an engaged workforce,
and attain sustainable results.
[Terry Holiday:] And when we improve,
more children are successful.
See, that's the beauty.
With business it might be bottom line,
but with us it's the bottom line of children being successful.
[Mike Levinson:] People say, Why Baldrige,
my answer is very simple; Triple-A bond ratings
on Wall Street from all three rating agencies,
bringing capital projects in on time and within budget,
a 96% business satisfaction rating,
a 94% resident satisfaction rating.
[Narrator:] The right pieces
when placed together correctly can lead your organization
to more consistent results, lasting success,
and a positive continuous improvement culture
that becomes systemic in nature.
It seems like such a daunting task.
So, how do you get started?
[Eric Franks:] A key milestone for us was, well,
our very first OAE application--
Ohio Award for Excellence application.
We get the feedback report back.
We didn't win.
Oh, there was a lot of denial of they didn't know us,
we didn't tell them very well, the more we looked
at their answers and looked at the criteria,
we realized we weren't there.
We had a much higher opinion of ourselves that we should have
at that point, that was a reversal of our trends,
we start focusing on these things we were recognized
with the Governor's award.
[Joseph Lannon:] We progressed into the Army,
the Army criteria of the Baldrige.
We next stepped up to the defense criteria
for the Baldrige, then the state criteria for the Baldrige.
And the advantage of applying for these awards is not
to win them or not to receive them.
It's to get the feedback from these experts from the outside
that look at your organization in great detail
and tell you what you do well and what you don't do so well.
[Narrator:] The first step in your journey
to excellence is not difficult - you just need
to contact your state or local Baldrige based award program.
[Harry Hertz:] One of the great benefits of starting
with your state and local program is
that you get the networking and the feedback
at a very local level and you get to meet leaders
of other organizations who are on a like -
similar journey to the one you're on.
Sharing information with them is a tremendous benefit.
[Nancy Pratt:] Frankly, the whole process is some
of the best free consulting that an organization can have.
Consulting from people who are not looking to make money
from you, not looking to tell you what you want to hear.
But really truly a consultant that is there just
to give you information on how to get better.
[Narrator:] The Baldrige Criteria
for Performance Excellence is a nationally recognized process
that asks you all the right questions.
The Criteria are like a coach.
They guide you through the various pieces of the puzzle
of how to run an effective and successful organization.
[Lameck Humble Lukanga:] It's more
like a cat scan for your business.
Quality-New Mexico is the same way you have to look at it.
It's like a cat scan of the health of your company.
It's actually going - following
through the process and then knowing.
Because once you know your status and your health,
you know, of your organization then you can find areas
to improve.
I challenge you to take that CAT scan and see where you stand
and see the health of your company, because the cost
of not knowing will show up and that can be fatal.
[Narrator:] Your state or local program uses trained,
unbiased examiners who will identify the strengths and areas
for improvement that will move your organization
to the next level.
[Kim Griffiths:] The examiner gets as much out of the process
as they give to the process.
When you're working with people who are striving for this level
of performance, it is just such an honor
to be part of this process.
You learn so much from them, you are able to share your knowledge
and expertise with them, and you can feel the energy,
the excitement.
[Narrator:] The Baldrige criteria are not just
for business!
Many healthcare, education, government
and non-profit organizations have improved their operations
by using the criteria.
[Mike Levinson:] More government organizations need
to get involved with their state quality programs
and with Baldrige.
If you're interested in meeting the needs of your customers
in the most cost-effective way.
If you want to do it better, cheaper and faster,
and live within your means, there's no better way to do
that than to work with your state quality program
and the Baldrige criteria.
[Narrator:] It's not as easy as one, two, three.
Everyone's puzzle is a little different,
and finding the right help can be difficult.
Your state or local award program provides the individual
assistance to help place the right pieces
of the puzzle together
to fit your organization's unique needs.
These pieces of the puzzle are instrumental in guiding you
to develop an organization
that truly has a solid basis for success.
[Terry Holiday:] We've done district accreditation
with Southern Association.
You know, those are nice feedback reports,
but these feedback reports, they are powerful because you get it
from a cross-functional team from healthcare, business
and non-profits and other educators.
So the feedback report is the reason you get into Baldrige.
If you get into Baldrige because of the award,
it will be a short journey.
But if you get into it for the right reasons, the feedback
and continuous improvement, then it's well worth the journey.
[Rulon Stacey:] Through the Baldrige process we've learned
that we need to learn.
That's one of the best parts about Baldrige is,
is right out the gate you learn we don't know everything.
We've gotta go to people who do and learn what we can learn.
Today we've got, we've got lessons learned
that are saving people's lives because we participated
in the Baldrige process.
[Narrator:] And, the results you achieve are not a one
time accomplishment.
You can expect these results to continue
because you will have positioned the right pieces
of the puzzle together.
[Terry May:] It may not be the only way to be successful
as an organization, and there's lots of examples out there,
but for us it has worked out very well.
[Narrator:] Knowing which pieces of the puzzle fit together,
and how to position them are the focus of the Baldrige criteria
and your state or local award program.
Whether you are; a non-profit serving the community,
a government entity trying to improve service,
an educational institution helping students excel,
a healthcare organization wanting to increase excellence
in patient care, or a for profit business competing
in the market place, participating in your state
or local Baldrige based award program will ensure
that your puzzle is not only complete, but also built
to meet the Challenge of Being Excellent.
[Terry May:] And until we find something different or better,
then were gonna stay with the Baldrige criteria.
[Nancy Pratt:] It makes sense to start at the state level.
[Mike Levinson:] The state Baldrige process,
the Florida Sterling Council, has been our guiding light.