This report is based on speeches presented at The Regional Malcolm Baldrige Award conferences held in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and San Francisco in May and June 1996. Cosponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the conferences focused on lessons companies learn when applying for the Baldrige Award, illustrating why many executives consider the feedback to be worth more than the winning.Award winners were also able to show how the Baldrige criteria reinforce quality in every business area of their organization, especially customer profitability.