Menu
Close
.svg)
By Brian Hull, President and COO, ThinkGen
This is the 4th article in a series that covers essential business principles for successfully leading a virtual professional services firm. This series delves into practical strategies and actionable solutions that foster growth of virtual services firms by turning challenges into opportunities and paving the way to success
Savvy business leaders showcase excellence internally and externally because they understand it is not enough to be great. The entire company and its clients must see it and know it.
As the much-loved story “The Peacock and the Nightingale” illustrates, excellence in every form deserves to be seen and appreciated.
What is excellence in business? The textbook answer is that it depends on the company’s priorities, goals, and industry standards. For example, a tech company such as Google may tout its excellence in pioneering breakthrough innovations while an auto manufacturer like Toyota may call out its quality and reliability.
I also like the more direct answer. What is excellence? YOU KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT.
Companies with a remote workforce need to work harder to build trust and credibility with their team as well as with clients.
Internally, showcasing excellence to the team:
1. Boosts morale
2. Reinforces a culture committed to quality and high standards
3. Strengthens alignment around the company’s values and vision
Externally, showcasing excellence to clients and others outside the company:
1. Demonstrates expertise
2. Exhibits and validates value to current clients and new prospects
3. Makes the company stand out versus the competition
4. Attracts candidates wanting to be part of a team committed to excellence
At ThinkGen, a research-enabled consultancy, excellence shines throughout the company every day. The challenge is finding enough time to showcase that excellence internally. Below are two examples of how we do it.
1. Highlight and Celebrate Standout Client Deliverables Every Month
We hold a monthly all-hands company meeting on an online platform. All of us come together to receive team updates, review company performance, hear about progress on our initiatives, and listen to fun announcements (new hires, promotions, work anniversaries, birthdays).
Additionally, we use every all-hands meeting to showcase excellence. Before meetings in odd months (1-Jan, 3-Mar, 5-May, etc.), leadership reviews all winning proposals from the prior two months. In even months (2-Feb, 4-Apr, 6-June, etc.), leadership reviews all final reports from the prior two months. Using relevant criteria, a winning proposal or report is selected. The winning document for that month is celebrated, presented by leadership explaining why it won, and saved on the shared network for all to access. Gift cards are sent to team members responsible for creating winning documents as a gesture to reinforce our culture of appreciation and excellence.
2. Share Client Testimonials Real-time and at Company Meetings
Given our team’s unwavering dedication to delighting clients, we receive an abundance of glowing testimonials complimenting client-facing and supportive teams. We showcase these testimonials as we receive them, and we include them in the monthly all-hands presentations. However, in addition to sharing testimonials, we highlight key phrases or words that illuminate how the team “crushed it.” Below are actual examples.
“You are my preferred market research partner. The team is great to work with. Everyone was strong from start to finish”
“The team rose to the challenge to craft a strong methodology, seamlessly working with numerous cross-functional teams. The team was diligent at every step. Each detail was executed flawlessly. I am incredibly grateful for the partnership and will certainly recommend ThinkGen. Great work!”
“The team’s collaboration has been awesome and project management surpassed expectations. We do not always get a framework like what was put together. That was very much appreciated.”
ThinkGen has a powerful and distinct ability to showcase excellence externally by sharing deep expertise and industry knowledge. This is a differentiator and supports our position as a complete thought partner. It adds to our credibility and is appealing to clients. This capability also creates opportunities with new clients.
1. Thought Leadership
Several ThinkGen experts and leaders actively engage in demonstrating thought leadership by sharing a wide range of perspectives across several media channels. We continuously publish articles, case studies, essays, commentaries, and points of view in respected news platforms, journals, and social media.
2. Active Conference Participation with Public Speaking
ThinkGen’s experts and leaders regularly participate in industry conferences. Instead of just attending, our experts serve as keynote presenters and speakers.
Ultimately, it is not enough to be great at what you do to drive growth and success; a firm must showcase its excellence to internal teams and external clients. If leadership consistently demonstrates what makes the company great, the team will be inspired to raise their game and the firm’s presence will elevate. Company capabilities will be more likely to be seen, appreciated, and sought after.
