Defining an Ireland of Excellence

Throughout most of my business life I have been involved in a number of “Excellence programmes” which have been given many different names.

Investors in people

EFQM

TQM

Lean

ISO 9000

Etc

From my experience it is all about people, process and performance. All elements are linked together.

Excellence is the state or quality of excelling. Particularly in the field of business and organisations, excellence is considered to be an important value, and a goal to be pursued.

It is so all encompassing that it is difficult to know where to start. See what Aristotle had to say on the matter.

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. “

So really we are trying to create habits that bring about excellence.

As is often said it’s not about doing things right but doing the right things.

The big challenge we have is that” Excellence” is a word used in pretty much every sphere of business, professional and public life.

Retail Excellence Ireland

Excellence Ireland Quality Association

Business Excellence Ireland

FAS Excellence Through People

National Disability Authority Excellence through Accessibility Award

ICT Excellence Awards

Failte Ireland Optimus Awards Celebrating excellence

As such the word has become diminished because of over use and a lack of delivery.

The systems , processes, procedures and templates for delivering excellence are long established. You don’t need to re write the text book.

What is missing is “Leadership and Vision”. Look at the piece below:

What are the Taoiseach’s Public Service

Excellence Awards?

The Awards are held every two years to recognise and reward examples of

excellence in the delivery of public services and/or administration, directly

by public servants.

Applications are invited from projects or initiatives that show

one or more of the following:

_ Improvement to services delivered to the citizen and business customers,

including through engagement with customers;

_ Innovation and creativity, through flexibility, team working, partnership

and eGovernment; and / or

_ Increased effectiveness and efficiency, including better use of resources

and shared services.

Who can apply?

Applications are now invited, in Irish or English, from public servants in

organisations within the Public Service. This includes:

_ Civil Service (Government Departments and Offices);

_ Education Sector (Schools, VECs, Third Level Institutions,

Bodies such as State Examinations Commission, etc.);

_ Health Sector (HSE, Emergency Services, Public Hospitals, etc.);

_ Justice Sector (Garda Síochána, Irish Prison Service,

Courts Service, Probation Service, etc.);

_ Local Government Sector (County and City Councils,

Town Councils, etc.); or

_ Other Public Service (Defence Forces, Utility Regulators,

Non-Commercial State Bodies, etc.).

The above list is not exhaustive and you can confirm your eligibility by

contacting the Department of the Taoiseach (details on the back page).

All applications should ultimately be approved for entry by the head of the

public body in question.

How will the recipients be selected?

A selection committee will be established to agree

the specific assessment criteria and evaluate all

applications received.

This committee will have an independent chair and will

include members with experience of the Public Service.

The Awards recipients will be announced early in 2010.

Transforming Public Services

The Taoiseach’s Public Service Excellence Awards are

organised as part of the Transforming Public Services

(TPS) programme. One of the central aims of the TPS

programme is to ensure that the citizen – the customer –

is at the centre of the Public Service.

As you can see the key issue, problem is not in defining Excellence or where to apply it. Unfortunately that has been done nearly in every sphere of public life; however it is just window dressing.

It fails in execution, delivery, and leadership.

I have seen enough charters, mission statements, and quality policies to last a life time.

If the top table, team, don’t lead by example it’s all for nought. The emperor has no clothes.

The systems for excellence are there, tried and tested. No reinvention needed.

3 ways to grow your business

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "The great thing in life is not where we stand, but what direction we are moving." No matter what business you work in, a "business as usual" mindset will insure your competitors are making more money than you are.

If you don't stand out from the competition you may find yourself stood up by your customers. Now more than ever you have to focus, improve, and possibly even change what you do to attain, retain, and maintain customers.

One thing is for sure, tomorrow, the next day, we will still have challenges to meet for our business and our futures.

The 3 Ways to grow your business:

1. Get your customers to pay more

2. Get your customers to buy more

3 Get new customers.

Sounds simple. Customers pay more in this environment? You've got to be joking. They may do if they perceive to get better value than the competition, better service, better response, more friendly. If you can't find out what that difference is then you shouldn't be charging your customer that price in the first place.

Can you sell in new products or services? Can you create add ons to your existing product or service? What complimentary products or services could you sell in? What can you do to develop new income streams for your business?

Are your sales people seeing enough people? Are you seeing enough people? Are you measuring how many people you are seeing and what your conversion rate is?

The above are the only 3 ways you can grow a business. Are you spending enough time doing that? Are your people?

Are we banjanxed or wha?

We're all back in the thick of it now .

I was following a discussion from Irish Executives working abroad which was on the theme of Ireland "Banana Republic" do you agree? A lot of what was said was true.

"I left Ireland in 1986 and have been back 4 to 5 times per year since to visit family and friends. I have looked in disbelief at the corrupt politicians and officials that have systemically ripped off Ireland for the last 30 years and with particular efficiency in the last 15 years."

"After spending 3 weeks back home in Ireland for Christmas it’s so frustrating to see the current state of the Irish economy."

"I've come back after spending Christmas and the new year in Ireland (I won't be going in the winter again in a hurry and it wasn't the first major cock-up I've experienced) and the Irish at home are NOT PREPARED TO LEARN from their mistakes. They are still ripping each other off! They still sweep the dust under the carpet."

Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy. We only came out of the potato fields in the 60s. So modern Ireland is about 40 years old.

We were a country dominated by respect and adoration of authority figures and institutions.

The most respected, looked up to, doffed your cap to, were the local priest, teacher, doctor, bank manager and your local elected official.

Primarily this was because these were educated people in positions of power and authority with a regular income.

I believe that our current mess will be the making of us. In one fell swoop we have knocked the fact that institutions are all powerful and all knowing. We the people actually do make a difference.

Just look at every other country in the last 40 years and the mess and lies they have been told, Watergate, Enron, Italy - every year for the last 40 years, Weapons of mass destruction? We are all being lied to all the time.

I know the level of frustration out there and particularly for those of you who had to leave Ireland.

However don't give up on us. While Fintan O'Toole is good, if you listened to him every day you'd slit your throat.

The re building process has already started. It's not going to be easy. There will be some pain. Irish entrepreneurs and business people are focused on winning new customers and with customers comes the opportunity to serve them and by doing that we create jobs.

That’s how we can really help our country.

The rest of you don't lose heart. We are still a young nation prone to mistakes. I'm sure we'll make more but it’s not going to obliterate us.

PHRASE: Ni neart go cur le cheile.

PRONOUNCED: nee hyart guh curr leh kay-lah

MEANING: there is no strength without unity