What are the most important capabilities for managing corporate performance?

In September, McKinsey asked that question in an online global survey of 763 executives. The top four capabilities named were:

• Leadership: The ability to ensure that leaders shape and inspire the actions of others to drive better performance.
• Direction: The capacity to articulate where the company is heading and how to get there, and to align people appropriately.
• External Orientation: The capacity to engage in constant two-way interactions with customers, suppliers, and/or other partners.
• Innovation: The ability to generate a flow of ideas so the company is able to adapt.

These were the top four capabilities for the current economic crisis and the top four after the crisis. They also happen to be capabilities evaluated by the Baldrige Criteria.

The leadership category of the Criteria asks how senior leaders set and deploy their company’s vision and values and how their personal actions reflect a commitment to those values.

The strategic planning category asks how you deploy action plans throughout the company to achieve your strategic objectives, which define where your company is heading, and the workforce focus category asks how your performance management system helps you achieve the action plans.

The customer focus category asks how build relationships with your customers, how you listen to them, and how you increase their engagement with you.

The leadership category asks how senior leaders create an environment for innovation, and managing for innovation is a Baldrige core value.

A proven way to develop these capabilities in your company is by integrating the Baldrige model. Baldrige Award recipients have systematic processes in place that address the questions listed above.

You integrate Baldrige by conducting annual assessments using the Baldrige Criteria. To understand what an assessment involves, read 10 Steps to an Effective Baldrige Assessment.

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