Let me tell you about one of the best articles ever written about Baldrige in the mainstream press. “We Will Be the Best-Run Business in America,” by Leigh Buchanan, appeared in Inc. magazine on January 24, 2012. You will find the article here.

Buchanan tells the story of Larry Potterfield and the company he founded, MidwayUSA, a small business that sells shooting supplies and hunting gear. Midway won the Baldrige Award in 2009.

Potterfield was first exposed to Baldrige in the mid-1990s, but it wasn’t until 2003 that he embraced it. “He immersed himself in the award criteria,” Buchanan writes, “then personally taught them to 27 managers and executives.” He told the workforce that Midway would win a Missouri Quality Award in 2008 and a Baldrige Award in 2009. The company’s new goal is to win a second Baldrige Award in 2015.

Midway has approximately 370 employees. Every year, senior leaders choose 10 to 14 high-potential employees to serves as Missouri Quality Award or Baldrige examiners. It’s the company’s leadership development program. “I absolutely love this process,” Buchanan quotes Jake Dablemont, Midway’s HR manager. “If I look at the value of what I’ve learned in grad school versus what I’ve learned as an examiner, I would choose to be an examiner every day of the week.”

Potterfield believes Baldrige is foundational to Midway’s goal to be the best-run company in America, and to America if it is to remain “the greatest country on earth.” He developed a website to promote the Baldrige model, America Needs Baldrige!, that includes articles about the benefits of Baldrige, key elements of each category, and other information.

MidwayUSA has seen the benefits of integrating Baldrige. From 2003, when it got serious about Baldrige, to 2011, annual sales increased from $40 million to $225 million. And in the five years before it won the Award in 2009, its customer base tripled.

As with other leaders who have integrated Baldrige, Potterfield has the results that demonstrate its effectiveness. His story will inspire you.

To read more about integrating Baldrige, click on these articles:

• How to Integrate Baldrige
• Baldrige Gets Results
• Baldrige Core Values
• 10 Steps to an Effective Baldrige Assessment

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