Topic: Using Comparisons to Drive Higher Performance

Pagliacci Pizza is an independently owned company with 26 pizzerias in the greater Seattle area. When they did their first application using the Baldrige criteria, they lamented a lack of comparative data. This time-honored applicant tradition was met with an equally time-honored examiner response to go find some. This presentation tells the story of how Pagliacci accepted the challenge and started to refine their results and seek (and find!) comparative data.

John Clifford started making pizzas professionally when he was fifteen years old. Many years later, he is still making pizzas but is way better at it than he was then. When not in the stores helping customers, tossing dough, or topping pies, John is the Senior Director of Training and Development at Pagliacci Pizza. He has been helping Pagliacci along its Baldrige journey and has served as a Baldrige examiner at both the regional and national levels. He also serves on the board of directors for Performance Excellence Northwest (PENW).