Drivers of success

Successes and failures are symptoms whose causes are usually to be found in the competence and effect of leadership. Against this background, managers are culture shapers and drivers of success. There are no recipes for sustainable success, but there are proven procedures and methods that support managers in navigating the jungle of the complex web of challenges as well as advancing globalization and digitization.

Understanding success
Holistic corporate quality is not limited to the provision of an efficient and flawless service at the right price. The focus is on the management processes - for example, the implementation of the strategy, the use of employee potential or the establishment and expansion of sustainable partnerships - as well as the often less efficient support services. This is where the really big optimization potential lies. Exploiting this potential requires an approach that takes into account the organization as a whole in the context of the corresponding environment.

Sustainable and successful corporate management is an art. Countless influencing variables and unknowns, rapidly changing framework conditions and constantly new challenges shape the entrepreneurial game. General recipes for success and procedures are therefore an inadmissible simplification and do not help managers. In this context, the atomic physicist Albert Einstein aptly said: "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler!

Interview with Daniel Suter, Director Campus Sursee and winner of the ESPRIX Award 2019.

Mr. Suter, what do you personally understand by the term excellence?
For me personally, the term excellence is used to describe services that are among the best that an industry has to offer. This can be very fine chocolate, outstanding architecture, a sporting achievement or even a market or corporate performance: Business Excellence combines all activities of holistic corporate management and development and, with EFQM, offers a valuable value and thought model.

You started implementing business excellence a few years ago. What was your motivation for going down this path?
We wanted to be among the best - and to work out and prove this with relish! However, we also recognized that our three organizational units, which had been merged into one group, had quite different corporate and management cultures. This was a challenging starting point for implementing the transformation strategy (from a former training centre for the construction industry to a flourishing campus for all stakeholders).

In order to be able to operate successfully, a cross-organisational (management) culture therefore had to be established. There were two approaches to this: Either favor one or the other attitude and/or organizational unit on a case-by-case basis, or develop the appropriate capabilities through effective management of change. We opted for the second and established the ideal company described in the EFQM model as a model of thought, as a kind of guideline.

You have brought your organization to a top position in record time and won the ESPRIX. Is there a secret recipe that leads to success?
We have always approached the whole undertaking in a sporting manner. We wanted to "not only train" together in the company as in sports, but also "compete". The management team benefited from the fact that all of them are - or at least were - ambitious athletes. For us, sport is also a school of life. We have successfully used these experiences. It has inspired and inspired us! There are no secret recipes. The same applies in business as in sports: No pain, no gain!

One focus of excellence is on consistent customer, performance and result orientation. That takes a lot of time and patience. How did you go about it?
The key success factor of the Sur-see Campus is its employees. They all know the strategy and the vision: from the gardener to the boss ...

What are the most important prerequisites, success factors and challenges for a sustainable implementation of Excellence?
I am firmly convinced that at the beginning there is always the leader who must be convinced of the idea. Only then can this idea, this ideal of cooperation be exemplified and multiplied. Having a coherent, comprehensible attitude and being able to make decisions comprehensible gave and still gives the management security in their management work and in turn gives their cadres the guidelines for using their entrepreneurial freedom.

Under this condition, people - guided and planned - can achieve cumulative effect and move mountains!

"Under certain conditions, we move mountains. »

Personally, I found the task of reaching all employees and finding a fun way of dealing with business excellence to be a real challenge. It was important that we were well advised in our undertaking: The coaches of the Swiss Excellence Forum accompanied us at all levels, and the corresponding training and further education helped to keep the continuous improvement process going or to localize deficits.

The central prerequisite for being among the best today and in the future is the corporate culture. In your opinion, what are the strongest drivers for a sustainable excellence culture?
As I understand it, this is an absolute matter for the boss! Today, the Sur-see Campus is "excellent" in a wide variety of areas. We trust our employees and give them the necessary freedom. We communicate clearly, openly and transparently and support our employees in their success.

Our employees are familiar with our strategy and vision and know how to make profitable use of their personal freedom. This freedom has resulted in the realisation of impressive projects, such as the new sports arena, the blended learning courses at the Construction Training Centre and the certification of the environmentally friendly 2000-Watt site.

"Employees know our vision."

Do your customers and partners feel that the Sursee campus is run and worked according to the philosophy of ex cellence, and what feedback do you receive?
Of course, this is noticeable. Our primary goal is to welcome our customers back again and again. Every guest, visitor and participant is asked about his or her experience. The feedback shows us that our employees provide excellent services on a daily basis, and also gives us feedback on where there is still room for improvement.

Whenever possible, the feedback providers are informed about what we do with the feedback. In this way, our customers can sense the management culture in direct contact with the employees. The professionalism and, in particular, the friendliness of our crew is repeatedly attested to in customer feedback.

Looking back, what have Excellence and the Esprix brought to you personally and to the Sursee cam pus?
The transformation strategy was certainly confirmed. In addition, the award is an incredibly beautiful confirmation for all our employees. Because we won this Esprix together and only together are we excellent. For me personally, this development is also a confirmation of the confidence of all employees in their own performance.

The path to excellence is demanding and means a lot of initial effort for every company. Can this effort be justified for an SME?
Always!