This post is brief. But it is one that has been on my mind for a while, and I will develop as part of my passion for EXCELLENCE.

#1 ~ People

#2 ~ Listening

#3 ~ Managing by Wandering About (“MBWA”)

#4 ~ Service – lateral and vertical

#5 ~ Financial discipline (but not at all costs)

#6 ~ Leadership

#7 ~ Kindness

#8 ~ Thoughtfulness

#9 ~ Curiosity

#10 ~ Honesty

Most firms stick with the tried and tested mantra of clients first, remarkable service and a value based mode of something. But none of them are brave enough, externally or internally, to craft a set of values (or pillars of EXCELLENCE) that are anything other than ordinary.

Why would they?

They have a model that sort of works and to disrupt it still further by challenging the status quo is lunacy (or is it?).

Change in whatever guise is an inevitable consequence of running a business. Most firms fail to embrace it enough. Or in some cases at all.

Right now it is my belief that those people who are willing to change the most are the ones ultimately who will profit. Standing still or waiting on the sidelines is not an answer.

Consider the 10 Pillars above and ask yourself if you firm or the people that work for you embody them. If you don’t like them and you can better the list then fine but make sure you stand for something.

If you haven’t spoken properly to your staff in a while then go take these 10 out amnongst their ranks. Ask them if the partners embody and display all or some of them. I know from my own experience that most partners take too much for granted and it never hurts for them to consider that they retained to serve your staff just as much if not more than your clients.

Summary

Next time you come to craft a business plan consider the values that underpin your firm.

You need to think about the striving more than the arriving.

EXCELLENCE is the best darn word by far but a lot of people don’t really understand it. They only envisage something a bit better. For me it means being the most that you can be. If you run a professional practice, is it (and the people that work in it) the most that they can be?

~ Julian Summerhayes ~