The Excellence in Missouri Foundation provides several opportunities to learn more about performance excellence principles and tools throughout the year. The workshops and events listed below are those that are open to the public. If you prefer, Foundation staff can design customized training to bring on-site to your organization. If you would like additional information, please contact us.

Innovation and Knowledge Management Workshop

The term "innovation" refers to making meaningful change to improve products, programs, services, processes, or organizational effectiveness, while creating value for stakeholders. Innovation involves the adoption of an idea, process, technology, or product that is either new or new to its proposed application. How do you get started? Half of this workshop will focus on innovation. You can expect to learn:

• Innovation's tie to your organization's short-and-long-term plans;
• A "six hats" approach to gathering innovative ideas;
• Methods to cultivate either incremental or disruptive innovation; and
• How to put innovative ideas into motion.

Knowledge Management is effectively measuring, analyzing, and improving performance based upon organizational knowledge. Successful knowledge management can provide more effective use of information in operations, improvement activities, and customer satisfaction enhancement. The broad topic of knowledge management will be broken into three key areas of focus. This portion of the workshop will explore the basic principles of knowledge management. Expect to find out:

• Approaches that various organizations have taken~both nationally and within Missouri~and the pros and cons associated with each; and
• How to begin establishing an effective knowledge management process in your organization.

This learning opportunity is offered both as a public workshop and a customized on-site program for your organization. Please contact us for further information.

Organizational Assessment Clinic

Our most requested workshop, the "Organizational Assessment Clinic " teaches participants about conducting organizational self-assessments in a "learn by doing" format. Attendees will learn about how to begin an organizational self-assessment, and the different assessment tools that can help them succeed.

Based on the Baldrige/MQA Criteria for Performance Excellence, this workshop is a must for:

• Organizations just getting started on the journey to performance excellence
• Anyone interested in learning about Baldrige/MQA Criteria for Performance Excellence
• Anyone assigned to an assessment team in their organization
• MQA/Baldrige Examiners interested in a update or review of the criteria in preparation for the 2008 quality award cycle

Class size is limited, and this workshop usually fills up quickly. The workshop is offered at least twice annually~in Spring and Summer. Please contact us for further information.

Quest for Excellence

The Missouri Quest for Excellence event provides individuals and organizations an opportunity to hear and learn from the current Missouri Quality Award recipients. The Quest features best practices used by MQA recipients within the Criteria for Performance Excellence.

The Quest for Excellence event is a wonderful benchmarking opportunity designed to provide attendees highly successful approaches of how to improve customer satisfaction, performance, and quality practices. This event is a not-to-miss opportunity for all organizations, whether just embarking on the road to performance excellence through self-assessment, or preparing to apply for the MQA or Baldrige Award.

If you would like to learn first hand about how the Missouri Quality Award recipients have achieved role-model performance and what they are planning for the future, the Quest for Excellence event is for you. There is always an opportunity to talk with the presenters and participants alike to gain valuable information to take back to your own organization. If you'd like further information, please contact us or by phone at 573-526-1726.

2008 Excellence in Missouri Conference dates are November 19-21, 2008. Mark your calendar and make plans to attend!

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