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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”, was the wise teaching of one of the pioneers of Western philosophical thought, Aristotle. Down the ages some of the most successful companies and household names have done precisely that – striven to make excellence not a one time act or exercise in self congratulation but a habit. A race of continual self improvement in which there is no finish line. A leap for constant higher standards in which the bar keeps getting raised. An unwavering commitment to quality that is non negotiable even in the face of the unrelenting double whammies of rising costs and shrinking margins.

It is also a reality that majority of companies struggle to create and sustain a culture of excellence. Often the root cause behind this unending struggle and at times an acceptance of mediocrity lies in internal weaknesses. Such as high staff turnover, dysfunctional teams, uninspiring leadership, unrealistic goals forced on unempowered employees, inability to manage change, risk averse attitudes, inconsistent implementation standards, insufficient understanding of trends in the marketplace especially those relating to consumer behavior and preferences.

Perhaps the most visible victim of falling standards is customer service. Few companies have been able to construct and sustain a true culture of customer service excellence in which all components of the service experience - from promise to delivery, from complaint to redressal, from frontline to backoffice, from convenience to innovation, from hardware to the human touch - are managed in a synergistic manner. That places the customer at the centre of oganizational strategy, thinking and action. Day in and Day Out. Without excuses or compromises.

In emerging markets like Indonesia strategies, no matter how brilliant, cannot succeed unless backed by a culture of excellence. Excellence in implementation & execution, in product & service delivery, in knowledge creation & retention and in the development of strong institutional bonds and pride. In times of wafer thin margins and soaring input costs excellence also translates into higher productivity, operational leanness and employees adept at multi-tasking and problem solving.

Our research shows that excellence is one of the key factors drawing the large generation of young employees to companies. And conversely failing standards of excellence are amongst the major reasons why talented youngsters leave after quickly becoming disillusioned. If your organization is facing high staff turnover levels amongst your young employees then turn to IndonesiaWISE for timely and proactive support.

IndonesiaWISE can help companies create such a culture of excellence and monitor and enhance specific aspects of it that are crucial to long term competitive advantage. The four pillars of excellence that we can help you strengthen include –

• Implementation & Efficiency Excellence
• Risk Management Excellence
• Relationship Management Excellence
• Teamwork Excellence

IndonesiaWISE can provide insights and advice in these crucial areas by becoming your long term strategic partner or doing project specific assignments. We also offer specially designed management development programs in these vital areas designed to enhance the management skills & capabilities of your key talent pool thereby transforming them into winners and leaders of tomorrow. For further information and to arrange a special customized de-brief please contact information@IndonesiaWISE.com




 
ThinkingWISE™ Quotes
 
 
"Satisfaction does not come with achievement, but with effort. Full effort is full victory"
– Mahatma Gandhi
"It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts"
– Robert H Schuller
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win"
– Sun Tzu
"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure"
– Bill Gates
"When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge"
– Albert Einstein
"Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress"
– Theodore Levitt
"The innovate point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams"
– W Arthur Porter
"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."
– Steve Jobs
"The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired in value."
– Theodore Roosevelt
"After all, sustainability means running the global environment - Earth Inc. - like a corporation: with depreciation, amortization and maintenance accounts. In other words, keeping the asset whole, rather than undermining your natural capital"
– Maurice Strong
"Literacy is at the heart of sustainable development"
– Kofi Annan
"In the long term, the economy and the environment are the same thing. If it's unenvironmental it is uneconomical. That is the rule of nature."
– Mollie Beattie
"The noblest search is the search for excellence"
– Lyndon Johnson
"I wanted to change the rules of engagement, asking for more from fewer. I was insisting that we had to have only the best people...If you wanted excellence, at a minimum, the ambience had to reflect excellence"
– Jack Welch
"You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out"
– Warren Buffet
"All of the top achievers I know are life-long learners... Looking for new skills, insights, and ideas. If they're not learning, they're not growing... not moving toward excellence"
– Denis Waitley
"Strategy 101 is about choices : you can't be all things to all people. Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; its about deliberately choosing to be different."
– Michael Porter
"Uncommon thinkers reuse what common thinkers refuse"
– JRD Tata
"For me campaigning and good business is also about putting forward solutions, not just opposing destructive practices or human rights abuses"
– Anita Roddick
"We will try to create conditions where persons could come together in a spirit of teamwork, and exercise to their heart's desire their technological capacity"
– Akio Morita
"Be not afraid of greatness : some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"
– William Shakespeare
"Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service"
– Peter F Drucker
"To prevent environmental catastrophes caused by human negligence or obtuseness or callous obduracy, we need practical reason as well as sympathy and commitment"
– Amartya Sen
"We don't know where the markets are going....we have to observe what's going down, see the trends, look at every vibration on the market, prepare the technology and jump when consumers start to think one way or the other"
– Carlos Ghosn
"I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb"
– Nelson Mandela
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
– Walt Disney
"The highest use of capital is not to make more money but to make money do more for the betterment of life"
– Henry Ford
"The five elements of success are an openness to learn, meritocracy, speed, imagination and excellence in execution"
– NR Narayana Murthy
"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else"
– Sam Walton
"We are approaching a new age of synthesis. Knowledge cannot be merely a degree or a skill.....it demands a broader vision, capabilities in critical thinking and logical deduction without which we cannot have constructive progress"
– Li Ka Shing
"If you can, be first. If you can't be first, create a new category in which you can be first"
– Al Ries & Jack Trout
"A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts"
– Richard Branson