GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR

ACHIEVING PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

NIGEL A.L. BROOKS

THE BUSINESS LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Article reprint
 GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR
ACHIEVING PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

The sustainable enterprise strives to achieve performance excellence -

doing the right things, and doing them well. Values and guiding principles
establish the basis for decision making; guiding principles set standards
for behavior and provide directives for what is expected.

The sustainable enterprise has to be aware, willing, able, and ready to

enact and to respond to change in the markets that it currently serves, or
intends to. This means being able to exceed both the requirements and
expectations of customers by offering better value propositions than
competitors, either through differentiated product and/or services or price.
Value includes convenience and quality.

Maintaining a competitive position means that it is difficult for others to

replicate an enterprise's people, process, and product and/or service
capabilities because of the tight fit between them. Achieving a tight fit
requires alignment between the enterprise and its constituencies externally,
and between organizational units internally. Alignment is achieved
through guiding principles that determine the expectations for behavior
between the enterprise and its constituencies, and between and within
organizational units internally. With both external and internal alignment,
the enterprise is more likely to be able to meet the wants and needs of its
constituencies.

The guiding principles for achieving performance excellence include:

Has shared values and vision...

Values set expectations for behavior, establish positions and priorities, and
provide a framework for decision making. Guiding principles aid the
process. To ensure alignment with constituencies, values must be set
within context of the societal cultures of the markets within which the
enterprise has a presence.

A vision statement is an inspirational description of a reasonably

achievable future state of what both a community and the enterprise can
become as a consequence of its activities.

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The individuals within the organizational units must share the values and
vision of the enterprise, and must be aligned with each other in order to
achieve a tight fit. Sharing values and vision promotes the notion of
stewardship. Stewardship is the responsibility for the performance of an
enterprise and the delivery of value to its constituencies. It involves the
administration of affairs and the protection of assets. Employees cannot
be stewards unless they share values and vision. If they cannot be
stewards, they belong elsewhere.

Has an energized productive workforce dedicated to both individual and

enterprise learning...

Being sustainable means being able to continue over time either by

developing, enhancing, or maintaining the current state, or by changing it.
Competitive conditions can change from mild to intense, and demand can
change from strong to weak without notice. Paradigm shifts result from
changes in assumptions, concepts, practices, and values. New
technologies can cause paradigm shifts that change products and/or
services, and how they are delivered.

The workforce must be motivated to perform under the pressure of

changing and uncertain conditions. Leaders must be self-motivated, and
must establish an environment that enables others to motivate themselves.

As change occurs, higher-order effects kick-in - events or situations that

could not have been envisioned or anticipated in the past. Consequently
mistakes may be made with the benefit of "twenty-twenty" hindsight, but
provide learning experiences for the future. Continued learning is an
intangible benefit that can lead to tangible results. When the workforce
believes that it is sharing in benefits, it is more likely to have a positive
attitude and be productive. Learning how to be successful results from the
experience of failure.

Because employees come and go, it is important that "tribal knowledge" is

preserved within the policies, processes, procedures, and systems of the
enterprise. However, knowledge is power. In an environment where trust
and integrity are lacking, both vertical and lateral communications
channels close for fear of retribution, or loss of power and position. In
such situations, the chief executive officer is often the last one to find out
what those on the front line take for granted. Cross-functional sharing of
experience and learning should be encouraged to break down barriers and
to recognize differing points of view.

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Makes fact-based decisions through open discussions, and with the
risk/return assumptions of opportunities and threats in mind...

Facts are data about events and conditions, and provide information about
situations that are assumed to be true, and can evaluated objectively. Facts
describe the past and the present. Whether facts can predict the future is a
matter of experience and judgment. It may not be possible to obtain full
knowledge of the facts due to time or cost considerations - an enterprise
that gets tied up with "analysis paralysis" may miss opportunities that are
staring it in the face. Sometimes it is necessary to move ahead with little
information and break from tradition.

Decisions should be framed with an understanding of opportunities and

threats, and the expected risks and returns from being active or passive,
and offensive or defensive. Decisions should be made with anticipation
and deliberation. However, the process by which a problem is solved is
just as important as the decision itself:

● With the knowledge of the facts that are available under the
circumstances

● Based upon an assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the

enterprise and its constituencies

● Justified on the basis of rational criteria

● With open discussions, both vertically and laterally, that encourage

obtaining differing viewpoints and building consensus

Discussions can only occur in an environment of mutual trust and respect.

If differing viewpoints are not heard and responded to, then it is difficult
to achieve agreement and alignment. However, crises break down barriers
and can cause decisions to be made in an emotional state.

Once decisions are made, they should be executed with confidence,

commitment, and competence, but supported by contingency plans.

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Applies core competencies to competitive advantage...

Core competencies are activities done well that can give an enterprise a
competitive advantage - it should hone and promote them.

Balances innovation with continuous improvement...

To be sustainable, an enterprise should strive continually for innovation,

quality, and continuous improvement. However, sometimes it is necessary
to consider putting innovation ahead of continuous improvement, or vice
versa. Innovative ideas, and the associated new business development
activities, provide opportunities to take positions in existing markets with
new products and/or services, or in new markets with both existing or new
products and/or services. Innovation is about new paradigms, whereas
continuous improvement is about the effectiveness and efficiency of
existing ones. Continuous improvement is about repositioning the
enterprise in existing markets, restructuring its product lines, business
lines, and business units, and reengineering its processes. Innovation is
usually riskier. However, the cost of continuous improvement programs
eventually outweighs the benefits. Therefore, management should foster
an environment of intrapreneurship to ensure that innovative ideas are
available because continuous improvement opportunities will become
exhausted.

Focuses on results...

An enterprise gets what is measures. It is important to determine what

needs to be measured in planning and policy development activities,
instead of as an afterthought. Performance measures must be set
holistically and exhaustively, addressing both financial and non-financial
indicators.

Financial indicators include: revenue, costs and expenses, profits, cash

flows, and gains and losses (returns on investment); non-financial
indicators include: market share and penetration, product usage,
satisfaction, quality, time-to-market, cycle time, productivity, and asset
capacity and utilization.

Standards for measures determine requirements; achieving performance

excellence means exceeding them.

Achieving performance excellence is an enterpriship (entrepreneurship,

leadership, and management) competency.

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For more information...

For information about audiobooks, books, earticles, ebooks, and eseminars

offered by The Business Leadership Development Corporation visit
www.etailia.com

For more information about the discipline of enterpriship visit

www.enterpriship.com

To assess your individual competencies in thirty minutes or less, claim

your opportunity for instant access when you go to
www.individualcompetencies.com

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About Nigel A.L Brooks...

Nigel A.L Brooks is a management consultant to entrepreneurs, business

enterprise owners, executives, and managers, and the enterprises they
serve. He specializes in developing the entrepreneurial, leadership, and
managerial competencies that build sustainable advantage from vision to
value. He is an author and a frequent speaker.

He obtained his professional experience as a partner at Andersen

Consulting (now Accenture, Ltd.), as a vice president at Booz Allen
Hamilton, Inc. (now Booz and Company), as a senior vice president at the
American Express Company, as president of Javazona Cafes, Inc., and as
president of The Business Leadership Development Corporation. He has
been a contributing editor for the Bank Administration Institute magazine,
and has served on boards of entrepreneurial networks. He was educated at
the University of Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom.

His clients are in the financial services, food services, high-tech,

manufacturing and distribution, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, professional
services, retail and wholesale, transportation, and government industries.

He has experience in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

www.nigelalbrooks.com

About The Business Leadership Development Corporation (BLD)...

The Business Leadership Development Corporation is a professional

services firm that works with entrepreneurs, lifestyle business enterprise
owners, executives, and managers, and the enterprises they serve.

BLD develops entrepreneurial, leadership, and managerial competencies

that achieve performance excellence by building sustainable advantage
from vision to value through:

 Strategic Management Consulting

 Executive Coaching and Mentoring
 Professional Training via The Center For Business Leadership
Development (CBLD)
 Motivational Speaking

www.bldsolutions.com

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