Pursuit of excellence in 2023

• Published date: 15 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

You don't have to like the idea of making new year resolutions to know that the beginning of a new year is a good time to review whatever you do and set new goals aimed at getting better at it.

The end of one year and the beginning of another is a significant timeline to evaluate the success or otherwise of any endeavour and decide the necessary steps to take for the new year to be an improvement on the past ones.

Even if you don't announce to anyone whatever you have resolved to achieve in a new year, being intentional about making necessary progress in whatever you are known for is the only guarantee to make every year count for you positively.

This was what informed the topic I spoke on at a Masterclass training for staff of Marketing Edge last Wednesday in Lagos which was In Pursuit of Excellence in Media Practice.

Even if you are doing fairly well in your work or business, you must keep on aiming to be the best among your peers or competitors. You must not be complacent and must be ready to raise the standards far beyond where others can catch up with you.

In my presentation at the training, I noted among others, the following reasons why pursuing excellence is necessary:

*The new year offers an opportunity to review past performances and set new goals.

* Standards don't remain static. What was good last year may not be in the new year. Customers may have more options and would prefer the best irrespective of the past reputation of a popular brand.

* Good is not the best. It's supposed to be Good, better, best. Only the best at every point in time will be good enough for the customers.

* You don't have a monopoly on ideas and markets. Competitors are working hard to displace you from being No 1 and unless you have what it takes to show you are truly the leader in your field of endeavours, customers would move on to those who have displaced you

* Innovation is key to remaining at the top. You have to keep improving on what you are offering and be proactive about how to serve your customers better...