This book helps leaders, performance-excellence examiners, and organization-improvement practitioners to understand the 2015 2016 Baldrige Framework and Performance Excellence Criteria and the linkages and relationships among the Items. Seven types of information are provided in this book for each of the Items in Categories 1 through 7: 1. The actual language of each Item, including Notes 2. A plain-English explanation of the requirements of each Item with suggestions about the rationale for the Item and ways to meet key requirements 3. A table showing the similar requirements of the Criteria presented only once at the scoring level where the requirement first appears 4. A summary of the requirements of each Item in flowchart form 5. The key linkages between each Item and other Items 6. An explanation of some potential adverse consequences that an organization might face if it fails to implement processes required by each Item 7. Examples of effective practices that some organizations have developed and followed consistent with the requirements of the Item, plus examples of ineffective practices from organizations that did not embrace the Item requirements Features of this 2015 2016 edition include: New information on the Baldrige 2015 2016 Criteria for Performance Excellence to help effective leaders focus on priority opportunities for improvement and better understand the role they must play in refining their management systems and processes The CD-ROM included with this book has been modified to bring templates and related analyses up to date with the changes in the Criteria The CD-ROM provides a comprehensive Application Development Template for Education and Health Care organizations, as well as for Business and Nonprofit organizations Scoring Calibration Guides that combine the Baldrige Criteria and Scoring Guidelines are also provided on the CD-ROM for Education, Health Care, and Business/Nonprofit organizations Reading Insights to Performance Excellence 2015 2016 will strengthen your understanding of the Criteria and provide insights for analyzing your organization, improving performance, and applying for the award.