The Need for Excellence

We are living in an era where Time is of ultimate essence. A student struggling to get ready for school in the morning or a professional going through dozens of unread Emails while traveling or a delivery partner trying to deliver goods to a customer or a Manufacturer trying to meet their customer demand; everyone seems to be hard-pressed on time in this fast-paced world. In the words of Mr. Harvey Mackay, an American businessman, "Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back". And this is why Time is one of the most valuable investments anyone can make.

Mr. Benjamin Franklin, through his famous quote - "Time is Money", had pointed out another driver of today's world - Money. Well, we all are well-acclaimed with Money and the Power it possesses. There are very few things that money cannot buy. From necessities to luxuries, from tangible needs to intangible needs of people, everything can be fulfilled by Money. Moreover, Money has become one of the biggest yardsticks of success in today's materialistic world. 

Today, there is an ongoing, invisible war among all companies, however small it might be, to capture the "Market". The ultimate goal of any organization is to make the highest possible amount of Money in the shortest possible amount of Time. But this is easier said than done. This is because of the complexities that exist in today's "Market". In the most literal sense, a "Market" is a regular gathering of people for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other commodities. However, it is not that simple in reality. In today's scenario, there are thousands of transactions going on in a particular second. Moreover, there might be involvement of hundreds of people for one transaction. Mr. Michael E Porter of Harvard University, through his research, had noted down 5 forces that influence any organization in the Market. The forces are:

1. Threat of New Entrants
2. Threat of Substitutes
3. Bargaining Power of Customers
4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
5. Competitive Rivalry

All the above forces are being dealt with by every organization in the market at every moment. Moreover, the ever-growing demand for better Quality products and services at the cheapest price has added on to the grievances of the organizations. The question here is whether an organization will be able to sustain or improve its position in the market (given this situation) if they adhere to traditional operating methodologies. Yes, you guessed it right. The answer is a big No! So, what is the way forward? How can the organizations sustain their position in the market and even improve? Following the way of Excellence is the solution!

The literal meaning of the term "Excellence" is the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. However, in the practical scenario, Excellence is a relative term, which can have different standards. My perception of Excellence is that it is all about doing mundane activities consistently well. Excellence is not about doing extraordinary things. It is all about doing the basics right every time. Consistency of right action at the right time is that "extra" which can make any organization "extraordinary". I completely agree with Mr. Napoleon Hill, an American author, when he said, "If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way". 

This drive to achieve Excellence has led to the birth of many models and concepts in the field of Operational Excellence such as Total Quality Management, Total Productive Maintenance, Lean, Six Sigma, and so on. This drive has geared up in the past few years owing to factors such as Globalization and the surge in the usage of Technology. Thanks to Globalization, geographical barriers have been nullified as far as business is concerned. Customer awareness is as high as it has ever been - thanks to technological breakthroughs. Thus, it can be safely said that this surge in the number of organizations adhering to the way of Excellence is justified.