Excellence: Habitual Practice, Not Just an Act
Image credits: Ashkan Forouzani / Unsplash
We often measure excellence by numbers: profits, targets, market shares. But the real game-changers see excellence as a habit, not a one-off act. They embed it in their organisational culture, focusing on long-term sustainability over short-term gains.
Companies like Patagonia and Google embody this. They don’t just chase profits; they strive to reflect their core values in every aspect of their operations. This alignment ensures that excellence becomes a consistent output, not just in what they achieve, but how they achieve it.
Creating a culture that routinely recognises and rewards excellence starts at the top. Leaders in high-performing environments model the values they espouse, setting a standard for others to follow. They invest in their teams, providing the tools and training necessary to elevate individual performance to organisational performance. They celebrate efforts that demonstrate a commitment to these values, ensuring that recognition goes beyond traditional incentives.
Organisational habits that foster excellence are often built around collaboration, continuous learning, and adaptability. You’ll find practices like open communication forums, extensive employee engagement surveys, and flexible work policies that encourage innovation in companies renowned for their culture, such as Southwest Airlines or Zappos.
In recognising and rewarding excellence, leading organisations employ a variety of strategies tailored to reinforce their unique values. This might include profit-sharing schemes that benefit all employees, fostering a sense of ownership and collective success, or personalised career development plans that support personal and professional growth in alignment with the company’s goals.
Organisations that view excellence as habitual rather than a sporadic achievement realise numerous benefits. They tend to have higher employee retention rates, more passionate and committed teams, and a stronger brand reputation. Their approach attracts talent and customers who share their values, creating a virtuous cycle of success.
For businesses aiming to lead in their industries, redefining excellence as a habitual practice is essential. It’s not just about meeting financial targets or increasing profits—it’s about cultivating an environment where positive habits that reflect the organisation's core values are recognised and rewarded. This shift enriches financial health with a deeper, more sustainable approach to achieving and maintaining excellence. Those organisations that embed excellence into their DNA in this way will not just survive; they will thrive, setting new standards for what it means to be truly excellent.
