Excellence Is a Choice

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort,
and intelligent execution…choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” ~ Aristotle

Excellence doesn’t just happen. It never has. More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle said
it plainly—excellence is a choice.

And excellence is not the same thing as hard work.

As a department leader, I expect excellent work. Our customers expect it. Our
organization expects it. That’s why we spend time defining what excellence looks like.
We talk about it. We visit excellent properties. We learn from excellent leaders. Then we
invest in developing the skills and providing the tools needed to meet that standard.

But even that isn’t enough.

At the end of the day, excellence still comes down to a choice.

Under pressure, it’s easy to look for shortcuts and hope no one notices. Choosing
excellence means thinking through the time disadvantage and working smarter. When a
team member is out and the workload increases, choosing excellence means doing
more than your fair share to meet the standard—because the standard doesn’t change.

My job as a leader isn’t to create followers. It’s to develop leaders who don’t need to be
watched, reminded, or pushed. A professionally developed team leads themselves and
one another toward excellence every day.

That also means this: I should be dispensable.

If excellence depends on my constant presence, I’ve failed. My role is to prepare the
team, equip them, then trust them to choose excellence—even when I’m not there.

Excellence is never accidental.
Keep choosing it.
Jeff