Writing the Book on Leadership

1. A Letter from the President:  Writing the Book on Leadership

There have been thousands of books published on leadership and tens of thousands of articles, whitepapers, and blogs (plus one, if you count this one!).  Some of them focus on the process of good leadership; some of them focus on the characteristics and traits of good leaders. Some of them on the art of good leadership; some of them on the science of good leadership.  Defining good leadership is nebulous at best – why else would there be 130 million entries on Google when you search for “good leadership”?!  Obviously, there isn’t a single, simple definition.  But there are some common themes…READ MORE

2. Network News and Events

Learn Best Practices in Achieving Excellence — PENworks 2014  (Brooklyn Center, MN) Monday, April 14, 2014 

Learn best practices from nearly 20 local, regional, and national organizations on the journey to excellence — businesses, healthcare organizations, education institutions, and nonprofits.  Hear how five organizations — all recipients of the Baldrige National Quality Award — achieved and sustain high performance.  Learn ways to improve your leadership effectiveness, planning processes, customer focus, use of measures/data, workforce engagement, and operational performance.  Network with hundreds of other leaders and professionals committed to continuous improvement.

Don’t miss PENworks 2014, PEN’s annual performance excellence best practice conference: April 14-15 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, MN.

Registration open and Early Bird approaching (March 15)…READ MORE

3. Other Network Events

• The Principles of Performance Excellence: Baldrige 101-201 Workshops (Twin Cities) 02/18
• Minnesota Innovation Spark
  • Feb 24-25 (Mpls),
  • Feb 26-27 (Rochester)

• From Good to Great: How the Performance Excellence Network Supports Improvement (Twin Ports) 02/26
• From the Cockpit to the Corner Office: Vital Lessons from Aviation (Minneapolis) 03/06
• From Good to Great: How the Performance Excellence Network Supports Improvement (Rochester) 03/06
• From Good to Great: How the Performance Excellence Network Supports Improvement (St. Paul) 03/12
• PENworks 2014: The ROI of Excellence — Registration Open! (Brooklyn Center, MN) 04/14-15

4. Upcoming Partner Events

The 26th Annual Quest for Excellence  Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (Baltimore) Sunday, April 06, 2014

Learn how your organization can achieve outstanding performance! Plan now to join us at the premier showcase of the 2013 Baldrige Award recipients – the 26th Annual Quest for Excellence, April 6-9 in Baltimore.  READ MORE…

• CPHQ Prep Course — (Minneapolis) 03/01
• Diagnosing Problems in Organizational Communication — MNODN (Minneapolis) 03/06
• Going Agile – Ouch! — PMI (Bloomington) 03/11
• St. Cloud State Master of Science in Medical Technology Quality — MN ASQ (Plymouth) 03/11
• Action Research & Learning — MNISPI (St. Paul) 03/18
• Lean Office: 12 Steps to Creating Money-Saving Efficiencies — Enterprise Minnesota (Maple Grove) 03/19