ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE OR GREATNESS IS MORE OF AN EVOLUTION RATHER THAN A REVOLUTION. IN AN ORGANISATION, IT IS THE INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE DRIVE TO BECOME DELIBERATE, PATIENT AND DISCIPLINED IN ACTIONS AND IMPROVE PERFORMANCE ON A REGULAR BASIS THAT BUILDS UP TO A BREAKTHROUGH.
Operating at the level of mediocrity means subjecting oneself to the fear of being left behind or being surpassed by others, rather than Feeding the sheer drive for unadulterated excellence that hallmarks peak performance and greatness. Achieving excellence is a deliberate disciplined adherence to a set of transformative processes that gears into each other and builds up a momentum of greatness.
Technology cannot perform the magic of turning undisciplined people into the right people, nor can it instil unwavering faith, create a culture of discipline or ensure that the burning desire to turn good into great is fanned into an unstoppable flame.
Moving into the realm of excellence in any undertaking is a cumulative process sustained by a series of decisions and actions that build up to an amazing result. Excellence is not achieved through a single defining action, luck, a particular eulogised innovation, revolution or elaborate program but through persistent efforts that complement each other and gears up the momentum of growth of an organisation. The transition into greatness is a gradual developmental process. There is no miracle moment to achieving greatness. The transformation is a gradual deliberate process that determines the right actions to create the best future results. By her commitment to her vision and values, and by the beginnings of favourable results, the change leader motivates her people to adhere to the transformative processes and actions in a disciplined manner.
Achieving excellence or greatness is more of an evolution rather than a revolution. In an organisation, it is the individual and collective drive to become deliberate, patient and disciplined in actions and improve performance on a regular basis that builds up to a breakthrough.
The enthusiasm of internal and external stakeholders of an organisation is buoyed by the tangible evidence of a build-up of momentum, indicated by continued improvement and the delivery of great results. Great transformational leaders draw out the confidence and trust of their people by steadfastly implementing their plans, step by step, and by the successes attending to them. Often times, they do not use rosy rhetorics to publicly proclaim big goals; they allow their successes to do much of the promotional and motivational work for them. In a painstaking manner, they follow through with their plans and project forth their accomplishments to motivate their people and demonstrate that their plans and vision makes a lot of sense.
Ken Iverson and his team at Nucor began to climb the steps to transformation and greatness in 1965 and eventually made it to the fortune 1000 list in 2001
