Senior leaders often ask, “How will my investment in a criteria/award program impact my company’s bottom line?” This is a polite way of phrasing what they’re really thinking, which is, “What’s in it for my organization?”

For senior leaders in the home-building industry who have invested in the National Housing Quality Award (NHQA), an award and education program modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), such investment has led to growth in sales during the recession, expansion into new markets, and customer satisfaction, which has reached 100 percent for some builders.

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