Six Characteristics of Excellence

Written by Jim Zabloski

If excellence is the dream you wish to achieve, either professionally or personally, you should know the six characteristics of excellence.

Excellence Is Attainable

Few businesses are running an excellent race. Those numbers discourage the average manger or CEO into thinking he or she could never build an excellent company. Size is no respector when it comes to excellence, either.

Excellence is attainable if you burn it into your mind, heart, and soul. It must become you, not just a part of you. It is corporate; one or two doubters in your organization will become the cancer that stifles progress. You must cultivate excellence in every capacity, in every job description, in every task.

Excellence Is Painful

In many cases, achieving excellence is a laborious, treacherous road that most would rather not travel.

Excellence Is a Measure of Success

True, you may double your income in ten years by playing lowball with your vendors or salespeople, and you might even gain a reputation for superior service through slick advertising gimmicks, but none of that can endure for long before the wary eye of the public sifts out the truth. Once that happens, no force on earth can save a drowning company from the death it probably deserves.

Excellence Is a Motivator

Excellence demands that we think beyond our dreams; it demands that we take action. It tells us to line our ducks up in the right order, evaluate them, and possibly shoot a few in the process. Excellence says you can when the world screams "Impossible!" It challenges the heart, encourages the soul, and excites the mind. But excellence is never, never boring.

Excellence Is a Process

Excellence can be attained, but it takes a long time to get there, and once there you will find more places that need an excellence overhaul. The search for excellence never stops.

Excellence Is a Standard

I contend that Jesus and His business standards are the best. They are the standards by which we can measure success. Why not strive to be like the One who is a shining example of perfection for us in our personal and business lives?

So, let’s get to the nitty-gritty. If you plant some of the following seeds of excellence in your work, you will begin cultivating an excellent spirit among those around you. Insist others do the same, and watch the garden of excellence produce in abundance.

Seeds of Excellence

• Remember names and people.
• Be a comfortable company.
• Avoid egotism.
• Develop an interest in others.
• Continually refine and polish.
• Heal misunderstandings.
• Award achievement.
• Regret disappointment.
• Give before getting.
• Feed your staff needs.
• List objectives.
• Plaster excellence everywhere.
• Smile realistically.
• Look people in the eye
• Shake hands vigorously.
• Listen intently to everyone.
• Get excited about your work.
• Work toward perfection.
• Read inspirational material.
• Train your people.
• Be flexible.
• Practice generosity.
• Isolate problems and deal with them.
• Celebrate more often.

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