EXCELLENCE IS A CHOICE!

          Once a gentleman was visiting a temple. He saw one sculptor making an idol. He saw another idol like the same one kept idle on one side. He asked the sculptor, “So you are going to install two idols?” Sculptor replied, “No sir.  Only one”. Then, already one idol is there, why are you making another one?” this man asked. Sculptor replied “Sir, that one was slightly damaged. Hence, i am making a new one”. Gentleman asked again, “Damaged? Where is the damage? i am not able to see anything there. It is perfect”.” No sir, it has a scratch at the nose. That happened while we were trying to install it” Sculptor replied. Conversation continued between them.”No. i am not able to see anything. By the by, where are going to keep this idol?”

          “At 20 feet height”.

“Then the scratch will not be visible to anybody. Nobody is going to notice that”

          Sculptor replied” But I know it. It is not a perfect one. If at all, I am making an idol, it should be perfect. I cannot accept anything lass than 100%”. Sculptor’s choice is excellence, whatever he does.

          I have come across about one information. A monthly magazine of a company had gone for printing. When the first copy was checked up one official, he has found out that one of the captions for a photograph had a name spelt (slightly) wrong. Immediately, the boss corrected the spelling and reprinted all the 1000+copies and trashed the ones with that error. Just a small, tiny error that probably only the person whose name it was, would have noticed. But to the owner, that was not enough. Every single piece of work that left his premises had to be perfect. Always. Each and every time. That was his choice: Excellence.

How to excel in your job?

1.     Perform your job well. Don’t just do your job. Do your job well with pride.

2.     Make an extra effort. It will help you shine in your job.

3.     Be ready for hard work. Who is feared about the hard work? Let there be any volume. You can plan and design accordingly, which is work is to be done first and what can be done at the last. Keep personal calls, emails, texts and the like to the bare minimum.

4.     Act professionally. Act professionally in all situations. Professionals follow the rules and are courteous, friendly and tactful. Acting professionally also means dressing appropriately for your job.

5.     Express positive attitude. People should like to work with you and help you. If you work with a positive attitude, people are ready to help you also.

6.     Take initiative. Push the limits of your work. Consider better ways you could do your job better ways your department could work and make suggestions to your boss? Just do not confuse taking initiative with knowing it all.

7.     Be a good team player. Review how well you work in teams, examining key issues such as communications, working relationships, team successes (and failures).

8.     Know your boss. The better you understand how your boss thinks, acts and manages the better you perform your job to his/ her expectations and demands.

9.     Understand your employer. Tale time to understand the organization’s mission, goals, strategies and product/ services. It will help you better understand your role within it and the value of the job you provide.

10.                        Take (constructive) criticism gracefully. One of the hardest things for all of us to learn is how to handle constructive criticism-and how to use these critiques to improve our performance on the job. Most bosses are simply providing feedback so you can perform your job better, so you can excel at your work.

11.                        Build up rapport. Maintaining a good relationship with your colleagues is a positive element in job satisfaction which should result in greater motivation to perform your job to the best of your abilities. Just be sure you make friends with positive people who, like you, are focussed on excelling at their work.

12.                        Learn new skills, jobs. The longer we work at one job, the more likely we will get bored with it-perhaps just going through the motions-until we are no longer excelling in our jobs. One way around this problem is taking opportunities for additional educational and training when your employer offers them.

13.                        Be part of the solution. Problem-solvers are a valuable commodity in every workplace.

14.                        Avoid gossip. It should go without saying. It will downgrade your standing with your boss and employer.

15.                        Volunteer for new projects. Volunteering to take on additional work and responsibilities can lead to greater job satisfaction, better work performance, and perhaps even a new direction for your career.

          For most of us, it’s important to strive to be the best worker we can be, to excel at our jobs. It’s not necessarily about impressing the bosses and obtaining a promotion (through you may desire that down the road) –it’s more about having a sense of accomplishment for a job well done.

          Finally, remember that when you are the person that’s new to the job – or leading a new task-it’s always better to ask questions (even repeating the same ones until you fully understand the answer) than to proceed blindly and stumble so badly that you have no chance of recovering. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuse, only results. Every job is a serial portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with Excellence.

          Excellence is something beyond perfection. If you continuously chase perfection, you will elevate your work to excellence.

          The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not. Excellence is a drive from inside, not outside. Excel at a task today – not necessarily for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction.  Let’s make Excellence a Habit.

All the Best!