An email newsletter today from Craig Anderson at Global Performance Systems describes the Baldrige model as open source management technology since a number of people have evaluated and helped improve it over the last 22 years.

Craig’s observation is part of an article on the illusion of control. According to the article, “a team of researchers found that investment bankers who were prone to a high illusion of control had significantly worse performance on analysis, risk management, and contribution to desk profits. They also earned significantly less.” The researchers blamed these results on the illusion of control, which may cause insensitivity to feedback, impede learning, and encourage greater risk taking.

The antidote for the illusion of control is a healthy dose of reality, and the best way to get real is to do a Baldrige assessment. An accurate and complete description of how your organization works will show what is in control and what is not—and it’s rarely what senior leaders think it is, especially with a first assessment.

Craig identifies three keys to shattering the illusion of control:

1. Eliminate fear from your organization. This was one of Deming’s major areas of emphasis. Fear destroys the truth by stifling communication and hampering opposing views. What you are left with is the illusion of control.
2. Make the time to understand why. As Craig writes, “Drive-by management fosters an illusion of control.” Make the time to ask why things are happening and to understand the reasons.
3. Conduct an objective self-assessment. You’ll learn what to improve and now to improve it. Instead of making poor decisions because of your illusion of control (as the investment bankers did), a Baldrige assessment will identify the areas that need the work and that are important to your success.

To read more about the Baldrige assessment process, click on these articles:

• 10 Steps to an Effective Baldrige Assessment
• How to Integrate Baldrige
• Leading the Integration of Baldrige
• Learning from the Best Application Summaries
• 10 Tips for Answering Criteria Questions
• The Value of Baldrige Consultants
• 5 Added Values of the Baldrige Process

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