Your business may not be excellent. Here are some of the reasons why...

BOTTOM UP, NOT TOP DOWN

You've probably seen a typical org chart. The CEO is the top box, then under that are the various VP positions. Below that are the department managers, and so on. The business of excellence turns the typical org chart on its head. The CEO is the bottom box and upward the org chart goes.

In an excellent business therefore, an aspiring employee would want to work down in the company, not up. As you progress down, you carry more weight. This means more responsibility for success. Speaking of success, your measurement of success is dependent on the success all the ones above you. The more above you, the more weight. The more weight, the more responsibility.

THE PIVOT POINT

At the bottom of the excellence business is "The Pivot". This is the individual who is the main source of leadership and responsibility. Typically, it will be the CEO or business owner. There are two types of Pivots: The Pivot Point and the Pivot Base. When the CEO is a Pivot Point, the entire organization is vulnerable. Just like the point of an upside-down cone. A Pivot Point is when the CEO is unhealthy, has no exit strategy, has no key person life insurance.

When the CEO is a Pivot Point, the entire organization has a firm foundation on which to grow and expand. A Pivot Base is when the CEO is healthy, has an exit strategy, has key person life insurance, etc.

THE CORE

The core of an excellent business is not what you may typically think. It's not profits, although those are extremely important. It's not the people in the organization, as some may want you to believe. So what is the core? It's the market. It's the end user of whatever product or service you produce. If you are not a team that surrounds your market, everything else will eventually fall apart.

There's so much more to cover with the business of excellence. But for now, if you own a business and you want to delve deeper with me into how your business can be excellent, search the blog with the phrase "Part 4"

ACTION STEP

• Grab a cup of coffee and reflect a little while on these questions:
• Is my company a top down or bottom up?
• Am I a pivot point or a pivot base?
• Is my business or my market the core of all we do?

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