In search of excellence once again

In the 1980s, the book “In search of excellence” took the 1980s by storm. It set a tone for a whole decade and one could argue lay the ground for many companies during the 1980s and 90s. Now, many argue, there is a need to see such an argument once again revisited and rekindled; that there is a need to see many seek to aspire to excellence as a core ethos for business. In Search of Excellence was written by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman. It was first published in 1982, it sold 3 million copies in its first four years. In 1982, At the time of publication, “America was looking to Japan as the rising economic force. American businesses were studying Japanese management techniques and looking to learn from their successes. In Search of Excellence went against this trend, by focusing on American companies and studying what made the most successful American companies successful.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_Excellence)

Maybe a good question to ask at this point is; what has made British companies successful in the past? And have we stayed loyal to those pillars? Traditionally, success in Britain has been directly linked to visible leadership, trust and relationships. Yet many leaders are less visible, trust is at an all-time low and relationships have been sacrificed in the name of the process. It is surprising how many are today concerned by their lack of possession in strong strategic relationships after years of under-investment.

For 2022, the need is to almost create a new ethos for the next decade but one which does build sustainable business. The ethos and models which dominated the last decade may have been successful but few will argue that these are not lessons to reflect upon. Many companies have not innovated. Many have lost relationships and talent has not broken through as it once did back in previous times. It all became too dominated by systems, process and a control mentality.

Many CEOs have become increasingly frustrated by the lack of innovation within their own companies as well as an apparent lack of desire by many senior players to strive for excellence over the process. Too many have talked the words but not been accountable or created new solutions. How can this be changed?

The challenge has been laid down and many are now working to look towards solutions. As the old adage goes “there is rarely anything new” to be developed; it is more about learning lessons from the past of what has worked. Companies once again need to place people back at the heart of their models and look at how to free and inspire people to seek out excellence. After all, it is what laid the ground for the successes of the 80s,90s and 00s. They were exciting and good decades. People did believe in upward mobility, in strong societies, in opportunity and in wealth creation.

In a recent conversation, it was noted that many do not seek excellence as they are afraid to fail; failure is not tolerated in the modern workplace. If this is true, then this is a failure of workplaces as failure is an important part of anyone’s development. Such a fear only allows the wrong people to grow and those who may be better to wilt.

Surely it must be a way to once again free up those who will take the risk and seek a higher level?