A Legacy of Excellence

There are people we meet, people we come to know, that inspire us through their commitment to excellence. Some organizations are able to design their entire culture around that simple concept... excellence in all endeavors, from personal to professional. You can feel it when you're around people like that; feel an energy, enthusiasm, optimism. They are people and organizations that not only respond well to challenges but more importantly seek out challenges in order to better themselves and those they serve. A commitment to excellence requires an ability to take risks - to risk failure, ridicule, and judgement. A commitment to excellence requires the wisdom to make the right choices - to choose long-term gains over short-term rewards.

Questions:

What tangible steps need to be taken to move a group towards a legacy of excellence?

How do leaders support risk? creativity? 

Will efforts to make institutional decision making more transparent to the group, allow for more effective personal decision making?

My boys

This was during the 2008 NASC National Student Council Conference when we were invited into the community for dinner and entertainment. South Western was invited to a small but prosperous community to have dinner prepared by the "Holy Smokers". It was an incredibly warm welcome and the food was incredible. Once the tables were cleared, the dancing began. As usual, the South Western crew went to work on having fun and inspiring others to do the same. This picture shows what happens when an advisor sitting off to the side, decides to encourage the boys... she ends up with a special dance, just for her.