Are you interested in learning more about what makes organizations excellent — go from good to truly great? Are you interested in helping other organizations — such as schools, hospitals, non-profits, and businesses — around the region improve their performance? Are you interested in helping Minnesota and North/South Dakota become more competitive? Are you interested […]
Continue ReadingThe 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. […]
Continue ReadingGovernor 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 […]
Continue ReadingPerformance 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 […]
Continue ReadingExcellence 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 […]
Continue ReadingLessons 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 […]
Continue ReadingThe 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 […]
Continue ReadingThe 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 […]
Continue Reading1+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 […]
Continue ReadingMankato Area Council for Quality Becomes Part of Performance Excellence Network
January 17, 2018 For Immediate Release Mankato Area Council for Quality Becomes Part of Performance Excellence Network Acquisition Provides MACQ Members Access to PEN Resources, Advances Continuous Improvement and Excellence in the Mankato Area ST. PAUL, Minn., January 17, 2018 – The Performance Excellence Network (PEN) and the Mankato Area Council for Quality (MACQ) announce […]
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