"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The answer: "practice, practice, practice." Likewise, the best way to get to Washington, D.C., for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is, "quality, quality, quality." Don't ask me how I scored an invitation to this year's Baldrige Awards ceremony-I am convinced it was a computer glitch.

The Baldrige Award has been the subject of both praise and ridicule since its inception in 1987. Deriders say that the quickest way to go out of business is to win the Baldrige Award. Untrue. Of the 58 award recipients, eight no longer exist as they did when they won. Of those eight, two simply changed names; the remaining six were acquired by other top name companies. It has been said that the Award favors service, education and healthcare companies. Untrue. Half of the awards have gone to manufacturers.