Principle #1: Commit to Excellence
It all starts with a firm and measurable commitment to excellence. What is excellence, really? Excellence is when employees feel valued, engineers feel the organization is the best, and users feel the product/service is extraordinary. A commitment to excellence impacts the bottom line while living out the mission and values of the organization. It creates alignment for your staff and leaders while putting the “why” into action.
Principle #2: Measure the Important Things
To achieve excellence, an organization needs to be able to assess objectively its current status as well as track its progress towards the goals it has set. Principle #2 helps an organization define specific targets and measurable tools, and align the necessary resources to hit those objectives.
Principle #3: Build a Culture Around Service
All successful change requires well thought-out processes and procedures that must become the norm and be hardwired into the organization. This principle teaches how to connect services to organizational values – script behaviors, create teams, teach service recovery, and develop standards of performance. There is no higher responsibility than to ensure high quality and a caring environment for our patients.
Principle #4: Create and Develop Leaders
Leadership is crucial to sustaining a culture of organizational excellence. This principle teaches how to identify current and future leaders and then how to develop, train, and equip those leaders in a cost-effective manner.
Principle #5: Focus on Employee Satisfaction
The saying “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” holds true within every organization. Every employee is critical to the success of an organization. Satisfied employees do a better job. It’s that simple. This principle shows how an organization, by focusing on employee satisfaction, can improve patient and physician satisfaction while decreasing costs. Build a better workforce!
Principle #6: Build Individual Accountability
What if your staff acted like owners instead of renters? Principle #6 teaches how to create a self-motivated workforce. It’s amazing what your staff will do when they feel the power of their behaviors and actions aligned with those of everyone else in the organization.
Principle #7: Align Behaviors with Goals and Values
Through Principle #7, organizations are shown how to create and implement objective, measurable evaluation systems that are tied to the Five Pillars. Leadership report cards and 90-day action plans are used to support the evaluation system, and align leadership and resources in an organization.
Principle #8: Communicate at all Levels
This principle can work magic in an organization. Change occurs when all leaders are aligned, and everyone understands what is important, and what they need to do to help accomplish organizational goals. An increased level of communication speeds up the decision process creates proactive behavior and improves working relationships.
Principle #9: Recognize and Reward Success
Everyone makes a difference! Start creating legends in your organization. A legend is an example of those who live the organizational values. By creating legends we establish real life examples for others to follow. Create win-win-wins for your staff. Never let great work go unnoticed!