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Blogrige

The Official Baldrige Blog

Harry Hertz “The Baldrige Cheermudgeon”

Dr. Harry Hertz Photo

I am Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon, and Director Emeritus of the Baldrige Program. I joined the Program in 1992 after a decade in management in the analytical chemistry and chemical sciences laboratories at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the home of the Baldrige Program. I started my career at NIST (NBS) as a bench analytical chemist.

My favorite aspects of the Baldrige Program are: (1) the opportunity to interact with leading thinkers from all sectors of the U.S. economy who serve as volunteers in the Baldrige Program, who participate in the Baldrige Executive Fellows Program, and who represent Award applicants at the forefront of the continuous journey to performance excellence, and (2) the intellectual challenge of synthesizing ideas from leading thinkers and from personal research into Insights on the Road to Performance Excellence and other blogs that tackle challenges at the “leading edge of validated leadership and performance practice,” and contribute to the continuous revision of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework.

Outside of work I spend my time with family (including three beautiful granddaughters), exercising, baking bread, traveling, educating tomorrow’s leaders, and participating on various boards and board committees.

Puzzlement

Permit me the opportunity to ramble a little, and then I will pull all my musings together. New York Times Puzzles I enjoy solving puzzles! I start each morning

A New Baldrige Star Shines in Heaven*

A Baldrige star has left our earthly realm and now shines brightly in heaven. On August 6 th , 2023, former Baldrige Program staff member Mary Jane Poulter

Baseball, Baldrige, and Change Management

I recently read an article on Forbes website by Michael Peregrine about lessons from this season's changes in baseball's pitch clock that apply to corporate

Hey, Noah Webster, I Am Still Around

On two prior occasions , I was motivated by additions to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to create and update the Hertz Lexicon

Do You Really Want Employees to Stay?

The factors affecting employee engagement have changed dramatically over the last few years. In consideration of off-site employees returning to the office/work

My Life as a Plumber

Background It all started with my bathroom sink. I noticed that it was draining slowly and that I could pull out the pop-up stopper. It was no longer attached

I Have a Wicked Dream

Yes, I have a wicked dream. NO, not that definition of wicked. I mean wicked in the sense meant by scientists when they discuss “wicked problems.” Wicked

The Customer Is Always Right. Right?

This is nothing new. The customer is always right. Customers come first. We have heard these adages for a long time. And we have questioned these adages for