Testimonials from Small Business

Don't just take it from us, here's what small business leaders say:

“The Baldrige Excellence Framework has motivated us to be more deliberate in assessing every aspect of the business. It helped us apply a higher level of scrutiny to our performance across every function and accelerated the development of more insightful key performance indicators.”
—C. Richard Panico, President and CEO, Integrated Project Management Company, Inc., 2018 Baldrige Award Recipient

“The Baldrige framework asks really good questions. Answering those questions makes an organization take a hard look at what it is doing and why. Other utilities could benefit from using [this] framework because it helps to standardize processes, put a focus on the organization’s customers, and ask for data to back up decision making. The [Baldrige] framework takes an organization from reacting to problems as they arise to being proactive in improvements.”
—Leslie Blevins, Public Relations and Communications Manager, Bristol Tennessee Essential Services, 2017 Baldrige Award Recipient

“I have always envisioned Stellar to be a company that is built to last. ... And if you ask how we can ensure that we are built to last, I would say the answer is Baldrige. When I was introduced to the Baldrige framework, it resonated immediately because unlike many other certifications or performance excellence measures, it is not prescriptive—it is adaptable to any organization, at any point on their journey to excellence. At Stellar, we have wholeheartedly adopted the Baldrige framework and it has made all the difference."
—Celeste Ford, Founder and CEO, Stellar Solutions, 2017 Baldrige Award Recipient

“I’m a car guy [who] believes in the Baldrige framework. I speak car, not Baldrige. If we can do this, anyone can.  We are a testimony to the Baldrige framework [capacity] to provide organizational sustainability and success.”
—Gary Housley, President and Dealer Principal, Don Chalmers Ford, 2016 Baldrige Award Recipient

“We’ve always had a passion for customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, our industry, and our way of life. But Baldrige helps us serve customers better than we ever imagined. We are truly thankful for this gift of Baldrige to America.”
—Matt Fleming, President, MidwayUSA, 2015 and 2009 Baldrige Award Recipient

"MESA had the opportunity to make ourselves a better organization by using the Baldrige Criteria. Every person at MESA prepared by learning and working to improve the way we do business. Baldrige [gave] us a business management model. [The Criteria] identify the key things to an organization's success such as human resources."
—Terry May, president, MESA Products, Inc., 2012 and 2006 Award Recipient

"We were searching for a path to improve our business, but what we discovered was so much more.  It's not about the award – although you can't have it back – it's about how this process benefits our clients. Our improvements have strengthened our relationships with our clients, and allow us to deliver better service and value."
—Robert Pence, President and CEO, Freese and Nichols Inc., 2010 Baldrige Award Recipient

"Before starting our Baldrige journey, we were working our butts off. We didn't know how we were doing, probably above average. ... Efforts were in different directions. ... Baldrige brought us alignment.　It is a tool to channel your efforts. ... We all started rowing in the same direction. ... Baldrige is the key to winning results and world-class excellence."
—Ken Schiller, Co-Owner and Co-Founder, K&N Management, 2010 Baldrige Award Recipient