About
Who We Are
A 501(c)(3) public/private partnership making organizations across Florida and Georgia measurably better — since 1992.
Our story
One idea, since 1992
In 1992, Florida Governor Lawton Chiles decided organizations should be held to a harder standard than a slogan. He created the Florida Sterling Council around the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence — the evidence-based framework Congress enacted in 1987.
The model worked, and it outgrew its name. As the work spread to Georgia, the Florida Sterling Council became The Sterling Council. Today it’s a not-for-profit public/private partnership — governed by a board of member organizations and advanced by volunteer examiners across both states.
What we do
Three Ways We Make Organizations Better
Strip away the org chart and the jargon, and the whole Council reduces to this.
- Leadership
- Strategy
- Customers
- Measurement & Analysis
- Workforce
- Operations
- Results
Who’s behind it
A Partnership, Not an Agency
Sterling isn’t a government office, and it isn’t a consulting firm. It’s a membership of organizations — hospitals, school districts, utilities, manufacturers, and state agencies — working on one another’s improvement.
The assessing is done by a volunteer Board of Examiners of 150+ practitioners who train on the Criteria, evaluate real organizations, and go home sharper at their own jobs. The direction is set by a board drawn from member organizations.
Member organizations on our board, 2025–26
Who we serve
One Framework, Every Sector
The Criteria give leaders a shared language — whether they run a hospital, a tax collector’s office, or a factory floor.
Healthcare
Education
Government
Manufacturing
Utilities
Small Business
Nonprofits
Public Safety
Proof
Trusted by Leaders Who Think in Systems
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Years improving organizations
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Organizations assessed
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Award recipients
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Volunteer examiners
Chartered in 1992 by Governor Lawton Chiles and carried by every Florida administration since.
Start here
See What Sterling Can Do for Your Organization
Whether you’re ready to be assessed, ready to build your leaders, or ready to join the network — there’s a seat for you.