Striving for excellence in any discipline requires focus and dedication. An athlete working towards the pinnacle of their sport has a commitment to excellence. A business which delivers excellence places its customers needs and experience first and strive from consistent improvement.
To dominate an industry or segment of business an organization must deliver a consistent high level of superior service and value. Exceeding expectations and over delivering on the promise of the brand every time places few businesses in the excellence arena.
“Over the centuries, great thinkers have described just what excellence is. Excellence is not perfectionism. Rather, excellence is a journey through an ever-changing landscape of new possibilities and methods. It is the best result that can be produced at a particular moment in time” (Hudson-Searle, 2014).
Excellence is achieved only if your business has a constant cycle improvement. Small incremental changes to the product or delivery of product or services, gradually leads an organization into a pursuit of excellence in everything they do.
Starting with the selection of the team, excellence must be a value and mindset all employees must seek to achieve. From the top levels of the organization to the new intern, everyone in the organization must commit to do their best every day. Choose the best talent and never settling for less than the best begins the cycle.
Once the right people on in place, your business processes must be in place to facilitate the work. These processes document steps and outcomes that can be measured and improved over time. No process is every final, it is always evolving when you seek to deliver excellence in your organization.
From processes, you seek out the best systems and most efficient tools to deliver your product or service to the customer. System also must be evaluated often to ensure they are growing and adapting to the needs of the organization and the customer.
Quality checks are critical to ensure that what is being delivered to the customer meets the highest of standards. High standards should never be compromised. There are not short cuts to get into the excellence arena.
Finally, feedback must be a part of your excellence quest. Getting feedback from multiple sources at different steps along the process ensures details are not missed and gradual changes can be made that do not slow progress or delay delivery to the customer. Without objective feedback, no company can achieve excellence.
To achieve business excellence business can develop a framework. A business excellence framework can include areas of focus or complete organization integration. Every segment of the organizations, the teams, suppliers, and leadership work in concert to raise the bar and performance standards.
A focus on the delivery of excellence means;
- Achieving stronger financial performance
- Creating visionary and inspirational leadership within your organization
- Driving innovation in products and services
- Focusing on customer service and satisfaction
- Increasing market penetration and revenue
- Creating effective business planning processes
- Raising productivity and reduce operating cost
- Engaging teams in the process of improvement and increase staff satisfaction
- Improving decision-making capabilities and increasing capacity to manage change
“Excellence today is being redefined. As a CEO, president or business owner, you need to determine as part of your company’s vision and mission statement what the definition of excellence is”
(Lewinter, 2017).
Excellence is unique to the individual and to a company but is ultimately evaluated by the customers or clients you serve. If you are going to play in the excellence arena, get the right training, get the mindset, get the tools, and develop the skills to keep you at the top of your game.
Working with a professional business coach can help you improve your pursuit of excellence. Learn more at actioncoach.com and connect with a coach near you. We believe you will find such value in what we teach, the first session is on us. As the largest and most successful business coaching organization in the world, ActionCOACH has been helping transform business since 1993.
