Ranking the Baldrige Core Values

The Baldrige Criteria are built on 11 core values and concepts, which are embedded in high-performing organizations.

It turns out, some are more embedded than others. In October 2008, the Management Department at DePaul University released a study of core value usage at national and state award winners. An analysis of questionnaires returned by 31 Baldrige Award recipients and 134 state award recipients indicated that core values vary in their level of difficulty and, thus, in their level of integration at the organizations surveyed.

The first graph in the survey report provides a ranking of sorts of the Baldrige core values. The list, from highest to lowest (the scale is 4.60 at the top and 3.4 at the bottom), is:

1. Systems perspective
2. Visionary leadership
3. Customer driven excellence
4. Focus on the future
5. Managing for innovation
6. Managing by fact
7. Valuing employees and partners
8. Focus on results and creating value
9. Agility
10. Organizational and personal learning
11. Social responsibility

Core Values at Award Recipients

The discrepancy from highest to lowest for Baldrige Award recipients is just four-tenths of a point, which indicates that all of the core values are strong at these organizations.

Note that the scores for state award recipients tend to be a half-point lower than the scores for Baldrige Award recipients, and that “agility” easily scores the lowest.

I welcome your thoughts on what all of this means.