“You are not

going to learn anything new here today. Consider what I am about to say as

confirmation and reinforcement of what you already know,” said one of the

speakers at the recent 2000 Florida Sterling Council Conference at

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. italic'>“I am not going to tell you anything you haven’t heard already. But it

will help bring attention back to those things you know are important, but

often get de-emphasized over the course of day-to-day business and the

continual grind,” said another speaker.

I was attending the conference, which targeted leadership,

quality and performance excellence, with five other members of our company

leadership team in hopes of recharging our batteries. However, based on the

words of some of the opening speakers, the conference started out with what

sounded like a disclaimer for a lame seminaritalic'>. But, as it turned out, the seminar wasn’t lame. It was exactly what

the opening speakers claimed -- a chance for attendees to re-think

exactly what is important for progressive businesses to succeed.style='mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>

Although

each of us took a little something different from the experience, some key

areas were driven home. There were a few, specific standouts from the messages

of our keynote speakers and other numerous learning sessions conducted each

day.

style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>

normal'>We can learn

from other businesses and other industries.normal'>

style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>

style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>We spend more time doing and

not enough time developing systems, goal setting and planning.

style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>

style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Our people will drive our

success. The secret to success is focusing on the development and satisfaction

of our team members.

Other

broad areas of emphasis -- or ‘crosscutting themes’ for those that actually

admit to understanding quality-speak

-- are best summarized through the core values and concepts of the Sterling

Criteria and Model for Performance Excellence. These concepts, in my opinion – and,

based on the conference’s high

repeat-attendance figures, the opinions of a majority of the other 1,200

attendees representing some of the best organizations operating in Florida --style='mso-bidi-font-style:italic'> clearly identify the business

philosophies of the most successful companies in the world.

mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Core Values and Concepts and What They Mean

Customer

Driven: Our customers are the only true judges of the quality of our work or

our performance. Pursue customer satisfaction and loyalty before sales growth.

Continuous

Learning: Senior leaders need to encourage, promote and sustain an emphasis on

constant learning and improvement throughout the company and by each team

member.

Valuing

People: Respect, recognize and invest in our employees and partners.

Agility:

Respond faster and be flexible to customer, market and technological changes.

Innovation:

Encourage and lead the business to significant performance breakthroughs.

Focus

on the Future: Take time to develop effective long-term plans. Make long-term

commitments to invest in things that matter most.

Management

by Fact: Random, unsubstantiated decisions are out. Instead, use measurement

and analysis of performance to lead the decision making process.

Public

Responsibility and Citizenship: An organization’s leadership needs to stress

its responsibilities to the public and needs to practice good citizenship.

Focus

on Results and Creating Value: Focus on results for shareholders, customers and

employees.

Systems-thinking:

Plans, strategies and actions need to be aligned with the overall mission,

vision and core values of the business. Everything is connected and linked with

each other in some way.

mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>About the Florida Sterling Council

The

Florida Sterling Council annual conferences began in 1993 after the council was

established by Governor's Executive Order as a not-for-profit public/private

partnership corporation. The council includes business, government, health

care, and education leaders from around the state, and includes organizations

of all sizes. Each year the council elects recipients for the style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;color:windowtext'>Governor's Sterling Award,

which is the state's highest honor for achieving organizational performance

excellence. And this year, one of Southwest Florida’s own, the Ritz-Carlton,

Naples was one of the three recipients of the award --the first Ritz-Carlton

hotel in the continental United States to receive a state quality award.style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext'> style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;color:windowtext'>The award recognizes

organizations and businesses as benchmarks in their industry.style='color:black'> The Council's work is supported primarily by the Office of

the Governor, in cooperation with various agencies of Florida state government.

color:black'>For more information about the Florida Sterling Council and the

Governor’s Sterling Award, visit the Florida Sterling Council Website at href="http://www.floridasterling.com/">www.floridasterling.com.

color:black'>

color:black'>Rorie Wilson is Vice President of Sunshine Masonry, Inc. and

former management consultant specializing in total quality solutions.