In Search of Excellence

By Tim Webster, FIA Flame Conference programmer

Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer. Sometimes the improvement is just 1%, but that 1% is often the difference between winning and losing, between the good and the great. Blindingly obvious isn’t it?

This year’s FIA Conference is all about celebrating the fact that we have come a long way as a sector, indulging in a little “what-if” thinking, challenging what we currently do and asking if it could be done better, differently, more efficiently, more cost-effectively or not at all?

Eleanor Roosevelt said: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” This is of course much more difficult than it sounds but if we are to grow our sector we must challenge our own thinking and that of our colleagues each and every day.

As Tom Peters says: “Doing what worked yesterday is always the default option. Thing is, that doesn’t work anymore.”

In my opinion, in order to challenge our thinking we must look outside our own sector at businesses that are doing things differently and so this year’s conference features non-industry speakers from top-to-bottom. That’s a risk in itself, but there’s no point in challenging you to think differently if we aren’t prepared to do the same.

Over the coming weeks and months we aim to bring you some of the thoughts of our speakers at this year’s conference, starting with our keynote speaker, SAS hero Chris Ryan later this week.