Excellence in everything begins with small choices: Recently, while working on a ministry project at a coffee shop, I ordered a 12-ounce light-iced coffee with cream and two Stevia. The request was simple, yet the drink arrived with far too much cream. Although I noticed the mistake immediately, I initially said nothing and returned to my seat. As someone who prefers strong coffee, the pale tan color confirmed my suspicion: I couldn’t taste the coffee at all. After just one sip, I remembered this shop’s commitment to customer satisfaction. I decided to return to the counter, acknowledging that I hadn’t been specific about the cream ratio. The staff happily remade the drink, and within seconds, the barista brought it to my table to ensure it was perfect. That is the definition of great customer service.
After decades of leadership in demanding environments, I have learned that high-quality service never happens by accident. It is the direct result of a relentless commitment to excellence.
This experience left me wondering: Can people expect that same level of excellence from me? More importantly, can they expect it from the organizations I represent?
They say, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” I believe that. And it’s why I’m kicking off a series of posts called Enemies of Excellence. I want to get to the bottom of what keeps us from delivering excellence in every area of our lives. Because for some reason, I like coffee shops and experiences and relationships where things are done with excellence. And I bet you do too.
But first, we need to dig in and discover why excellence really matters in the first place. After all, you can go overboard with it, right? As a leader, you can create a harsh environment in the name of excellence. Or you can swing the pendulum all the way to what Dave Ramsey called “sanctioned incompetence.” That’s why it’s important to establish the target, and to believe the reasons for this very certain way of living and leading.
Defining Excellence
If you’re looking for a model to follow in this, I think the Biblical leader Solomon is a great one. The son of David and heir to the throne of Israel, he was intent on making it right. And he seemed to have a pure motive: a keen sense of responsibility for taking care of God’s people. When God told Solomon to ask Him for anything, Solomon said, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10, NLT).
For our purposes, let’s define excellence as doing the best you can with what you have. For sure, Solomon did that. He governed the people, he built the temple to exacting standards, and He expanded the influence of Israel to unprecedented heights. He wasn’t perfect, and in fact, he made some mistakes. But he practiced excellence and we can learn from his example.
Here are 3 Reasons to Aim for Excellence:
- Excellence Honors God. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (NLT). God is a God of excellence, so when we do our best with what we have, we’re honoring Him. We’re showing that we care what He thinks of our work. We’re showing that He is worthy of our best.
- Excellence Attracts Partnership. When Solomon was visited by an important world leader, she took notice of his hard work and his commitment to excellence. As a result, “she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never before had there been spices as fine as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon” (2 Chronicles 9:10, NLT). It’s good to remember that someone is always watching, and excellence makes people want to jump on board.
- Excellence Moves the Needle. Solomon’s ultimate achievement was building the Temple of God in Jerusalem, which was a massive undertaking. It required an enormous amount of work and attention to detail. Scripture says, “The entire building was completed in every detail…it took seven years to build the Temple” (1 Kings 6:38, NLT). This one accomplishment was a major difference-maker for Israel. It not only unified the nation, but it also provided a central place of worship and fulfilled God’s promise to David that his son would carry out this work.
We can probably agree that excellence matters. And we probably all want to be the kind of people that bring excellence in everything we do.
But here’s the catch: Excellence doesn’t come easy. It’s not a default setting, and it certainly doesn’t happen by accident. It’s pursued. It’s fought for. It’s maintained. So why doesn’t it always happen?
The truth is, there are real enemies out there—subtle forces that undermine our best efforts and derail our pursuit of excellence. They creep in unnoticed, gnawing away at our resolve until we settle for less than what we’re capable of.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can identify these enemies, confront them, and push past them to achieve the kind of excellence that honors God, attracts partnership, and truly moves the needle in our lives and leadership.
So, in my next few posts, I’ll be unpacking these enemies of excellence, exposing what holds us back, and exploring how we can overcome these obstacles. Because if we’re going to aim for excellence, we need to be ready to fight for it. And that fight starts now.
Join me on this journey—because the difference between good and great could change everything.
This article originally appeared on GabeKolstad.com and is reposted here by permission.