In Search of Excellence

“Excellence”

We all have come across this word many times. We have read about it, we have heard about it, and we have even talked about it. But be honest, how many of us really understand what does it mean?

I for one am totally confused. I have a sense of what excellence is. Over the years I have read a few books (like ‘In search of excellence’) and I have heard prominent people talk about it.  But the true meaning of the word still eludes me.

What is Excellence and how does one go about achieving excellence? There are no simple answers.

Here are some thought provoking questions:

1. “We must strive for excellence.” I am sure no one disputes this statement. But how do we “strive” for it?
2. Can it be achieved only organization as a whole? Or can it be achieved by individuals? If it can be achieved by all (or most of) the employees, does the organization become excellent?
3. Is it the product or a process? Is it a static goal that once achieved is attained for good? Or is it continuous improvement?
4. Can everyone be excellent?
5. Can a person (or organization) excel in everything he/she does? Or it can be practically achieved in a few things that a person does? (This by extension applies to our work as well. Can someone be excellent in everything he/she does at work or can excellence be achieved in only a few categories?)
6. When someone excels at work, who are we comparing the person against?
7. What is the difference between better, outstanding and excellence?

Going through my notes on various newspaper articles, books, speeches etc, I have attempted to compile my thoughts and try to answer these questions.

Dictionary meaning from two sources:

Excellence:

Meeriam-Webster DictionaryMain Entry: ex·cel·lence
Function: noun
1 : the quality of being excellent
2 : an excellent or valuable quality : VIRTUE American Heritage Dictionaryex·cel·lence 
n. 1.               The state, quality, or condition of excelling; superiority. 2.               Something in which one excels. 3.               Excellence Excellency.

Synonyms

Here are some synonyms for excellence: fineness, brilliance, superiority, distinction, quality, merit. (Note: None of these truly capture the essence of ‘excellence’. It is like the elephant story. Every description is correct yet incomplete)

By reading different definitions and synonyms we can deduce the following:

1. Excellence is a quality.
2. Excellence is also a state.
3. Excellence is being significantly better than average.
4. From the group under consideration only the top few can be considered ‘Excellent’.

Examples:

Here are some examples that are quite different from each other but collectively I think they capture the essence of the word ‘Excellence’.

My new bag

I needed a new bag. Specifications: It should carry my laptop, should not be bulky, and should have room for my lunchbox, coffee cup, wall-street journal, pen and a notepad. I bought a new bag last week. It is by ‘Kensington’. The model is: ‘Contour Terrain Notebook Case’.

 

Average

-          It is good looking.

-          It is sturdy but not bulky.

-          It has a laptop compartment.

-          It has room for everything I want to carry with me on my commute to work.

Better

-          It has a front pocket where I can keep water bottle or my coffee cup for easy access.

-          It has padded handles and comfortable, adjustable shoulder strap.

-          It has water and stain resistant materials.

What makes it excellent?

-          The back of the back is contoured which brings weight closer to the body to increase comfort and reduce fatigue. Most of the bags I have used, slid from the shoulder (especially when I am wearing a jacket). The reason: the place where the shoulder strap rests on the shoulder is not in line with the bag itself. This bag doesn’t slide from the shoulder because of its contoured back. This makes it excellent because it does something that none else has done yet (at least to my knowledge).

-          It is an in-between bag. It is neither a laptop bag (which is useless to carry the commuter stuff) nor it is a commuter bag (cannot carry a laptop). This bag can be used even when you are not carrying a laptop.

Tiger Woods 

Average

-          He is a very good golf player.

-          He is extremely athletic.

-          He has great motor skills (hand-eye-coordination)

Better

-          He practices golf really hard for more than 5-6 hours almost every day.

-          He works out in the gym for 1-2 hours every day.

-          He has a very mature head on his shoulder.

-          He has never lost a tournament while leading after 54 holes (three rounds). He has won all 12 tournaments when he was leading after the third round.

What makes him Excellent?

-          At the height of his career, he changed his swing completely. Why? Because he felt that he could de-construct his swing and construct a new swing that will be significantly better.

-          Tiger putting is one of the best. While watching his game on TV he noticed a flaw (that no one else noticed) in his putting. He corrected it within a few days just in time for a tournament.

-          He is far above the rest of the golf professionals. Some pundits say that Tiger drives the spirit of competition out of the game as when Tiger is playing well (which is most of the time) he relegates his opponents to simply compete for the second place.

Jeffery

I commute by train. Every morning Jeffery, a mobile coffee vendor sells coffee along with other goodies from his van just outside the train station.

Average

-          He sells decent coffee.

-          Coffee is hot.

-          Price is fair.

Better

-          He is at the station every day.

-          He always has change no matter what note you give him.

What makes him Excellent?

-          He always has a smile on his face. He tells jokes while preparing coffee.

-          He remembers names of all his regular customers (he has more than 60 regular customers).

-          He remembers how his regular customers take their coffee. Light, dark, black, milk/cream and how many sugars.

-          He knows the train time table. He does not just stand by his van; he is always on the lookout for his regular customers. If the train is about to arrive and he sees you running to the station, he keeps your coffee ready. If you don’t have enough time to pay him, it is ok to pay him the next day.

How can we relate it to our work? 

Know how to rate your work

-          We need to know how to rate ourselves. This is not related to the goals and objectives set by our manager for us. This is our own evaluation.

-          Many have an inflated view of their own performance. Every person has three personalities. One, how the person sees himself; second, how the person wants others to see him; and third, how the others really see him. Only when all these perceptions are close to being identical, we can really evaluate ourselves. Excellence can only be achieved if we evaluate ourselves truthfully.

-          We need to review our performance frequently and make adjustments to our goals and objectives accordingly.

Achieve the ‘Average’ state first

-          Once we know where we stand, we need to achieve the ‘Average’ state; if we are not already there.

Achieve the ‘Above Average’ state next

-          After achieving the ‘Average’ state, we need to now become better than average.

Continue to work at ‘Above Average’ state

-          After reaching the ‘Above Average’ state, we need to consistently perform at ‘Above Average’ level.

-          We also need to understand that ‘Above Average; should and will become ‘Average’ and we will need to keep raising the bar.

Figure out how you can take your work to ‘Excellence’ state

-          We can start this process only when we are consistently at ‘Above Average’. You can’t be learning J2EE environment and become ‘Excellent’ at Java architecture.

-          Put yourselves in your customer’s shoes. What are your customer’s needs? Categorize them into Vital, Essential and Desirable buckets. By being ‘Above Average’ we are already taking care of the Vital and most of the essential needs. Can we satisfy the ‘Desirable’ needs?

-          Understand the customer’s technical, architectural and business knowledge. Should we be “Consulting” the customer on any of these areas? Are we going beyond being ‘Order Takers’?

-          Are we truly thinking what is right for the customers? How are we resolving the conflict between what is right for us and what is right for our customers? We should be resolving this conflict in favor of the customer. It always results in more business from the customer in the long run.

-          Maintain a ‘Value Register’ top keep track of the true “Value” we are adding for our customers. The things logged in this register should be truly above and beyond the “work” that is assigned to us.

Re-define your ‘Average’ or ‘Above Average’ state to the newly achieved ‘Excellence’ state

-          Once you have achieved ‘excellence’, know that very soon this will be the new ‘Average’ or ‘Above Average’ state. In other words, it will become the job description. To illustrate this point, you remember when the first Indian IT company achieved CMM-Level 5? That was excellence. Now almost everyone has achieved that level and achieving CMM-Level 5 is not ‘Excellence’, it is a requirement.

Continue to redefine what ‘Excellence’ is for your job