NFIB

Incorporate Excellence Into What You Do
03/ 28/ 2002


"The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing a thing exactly right," said Edward Simmons. Paying attention to details forms the basis for excellence, which leads to successful work habits. In today's Workshop, writer Jeff Moses discusses the importance of incorporating excellence into what you do.

Several decades ago, American business was in a slump. Its products were considered inferior to those produced in Japan, Germany, and various other countries. American work habits were thought of as unproductive, and its management styles were considered sloppy.

Then, in the early 1980's, a new spirit began sweeping the country. A landmark book, published in 1982, captured the essence of this spirit: "In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies," written by Thomas Peters, Robert H. Waterman, and Tom Peters. The book revealed behind-the-scene examples of some of the world's most successful business organizations -- and concluded that success is based on innovation, getting in touch with customers, and making sure that everyone in the company is involved. These ideas gathered momentum and became mainstream throughout the U.S. Now American products are known worldwide for their quality, and American management expertise is highly sought after everywhere.

The key concept in this turnaround was attention to excellence. In business, as in life, excellence makes all the difference. In a business sense, excellence means completeness, accuracy and efficiency of service, and taking responsibility for the complete satisfaction of customer needs. When you strive to make excellence a philosophy of business, customers seek you out. This is the essence of "word of mouth." The buying public knows that working with a company that has this philosophy is the basis for mutually beneficial and lasting relationships.

It's a truth of life that the difference between a winner and an also-ran can be measured in extremely small increments. Quite often, for instance, the winner of a professional golf tournament finishes a single stroke ahead of his or her rivals. This means that over 72 holes of golf, a single stroke makes the difference between being a winner and finishing second. In professional baseball, the difference between hitting .300 and hitting .250 during a season can be as little as 20 hits over an entire 162-game schedule (based on 400 at-bats during the season). Getting just one more base hit every eight games makes the difference between being an all-star and being an average player!

It's the same in business. Over the course of time, paying attention to details and making sure that nothing is overlooked can pay tremendous dividends. It's too easy to think, "It's almost time to leave for the day, I'll just read through the paper until I can go." But that's the time to focus, to see what single last thing can be done before leaving.

The day-in-day-out attention to details makes all the difference. Details add up to excellence. And excellence is the basis for success.

Remember:
"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." -- Vince Lombardi, Hall-of-Fame Football Coach

workshop.managing.wed
8.18.1999

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us