On Becoming Exceptional: SSM Health Care's Journey to Baldrige and Beyond

This book does not deliver five or 10 magical steps to levitate your organization to excellence. Instead, it tells a story of mundane realities - hard work, dozens of mistakes, and the extraordinary commitment of thousands of people. It deals with blind alleys, unpopular decisions, incremental improvements, and even a few breakthroughs. In other words, it deals with the real world of flawed organizations and human beings. So if your taste in the business-management aisle of the bookstore runs toward fantasy, please keep looking. If, on the other hand, you are interested in learning from someone who will readily admit her - and her organization's - myriad faults, multiple mistakes, and constant doubts, On Becoming Exceptional is your book. CEO Sister Mary Jean Ryan tells the story of how SSM Health Care made its way through the turbulence to become the first health care organization to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award - given by the President of the United States for outstanding achievement in quality.