Summertown Interiors

How do we grow, how do we attain superior performance, and how can we go from good to excellent? What makes truly exceptional people and companies and what can we do to make a difference?

Ask yourself; what do you believe in, what is important to you and what are those values on which you would never compromise. The idea is not to create or set core values but to look deep within, by looking inside your organization, your department, or yourself and discover the core values that are already there. Identify what you stand for. Once you have identified your core values you must protect those core values. Anything that does not comply with those core values must be ejected like a virus as if it were a disease. In everything you do you need to remind yourself of the crucial distinction between core and noncore, between what should never change and what should be open for change, between what is truly important and what is not. In order to operate at our best when doing business or dealing with others we should never abandon our core values. This may at times be very difficult and almost seem impossible. It may make us move more slowly but we should only grow as fast as we can find people who will uphold our standards and deal with challenges in such a way that we never abandon our principles. Never compromise on your standards for the sake of expediency, opportunity, or financial gain.

Secondly, ask yourself; what is your organization’s, department’s, or your personal core purpose, your fundamental reason for being? Please do not confuse it with goals and strategies or with products and services offered by the organization or your self. Purpose gets at the deeper reason for a company’s or your existence beyond just trying to make money. Money is important for an organization’s and your own existence but it is not the reason for our being. Examples of purpose are; a psychologist’s purpose could be to help mentally challenged people reach their full potential or for Walt Disney it simply is to make people happy. Another example of purpose may be the pursuit of excellence. We do not want to create or set our purpose, we need to find it by looking inside, it must already be there somewhere at the gut level. Why is purpose so important? A purpose can never be fully realized as in the pursuit of excellence there is no finish line, as quoted by Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai. When focusing on a purpose there will be continuous change and improvement. When implemented properly it can guide and inspire yourself and an organization in the short, medium, and long term. “What is your purpose” may be difficult to define, however, it requires a “simple” answer in one or two sentences.

And last but not least there must be an envisioned future, a big audacious goal to achieve. You must commit to a risky and challenging goal in order to stimulate progress.

Evidence from research has shown that those who make a lasting contribution and give meaning to their life are more happy and make more money over the long run.

If you are a CEO, manager, or entrepreneur and wish to read more on the subject of core ideology I would recommend the bestselling author Jim Collins.