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A Culture of Excellence

Let’s get into the story of King Solomon and Queen Sheba.

1st Kings 10:1-5 says, “When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.”

What the Queen of Sheba saw was extraordinary. King Solomon didn’t just build an impressive building. He built an impressive culture. A culture of excellence isn’t just about what you want and what you don’t want. Actually, that’s the easy part. The hard part about a culture of excellence is that it has to be taught and caught. Even then, your work is never done. It always requires culture to be (or to have been) . . .

1) Transmitted: constantly teaching in formal and semi- formal environments.

2) Translated: it has a sound and language all its own.

3) Timely: communication excellence in . . . communicating.

4) Transferable: passed down at every level with “culture carriers” so that it is repeatable and duplicatable.

5) Thorough: includes debriefing, a time to make corrections. Debriefing requires things to be thought through well so as to disseminate the details, dissect the issues, make corrections off the findings to produce a better product, and improve the system.

No matter what you’ve been entrusted with, a central truth is this: Either you will create the kind of culture you want, or—by default—it will be created for you. Whether a business, a non- profit, a church, or any other organization, without leadership setting the pace in creating a culture, the people working there will haphazardly create one. Abdicate this essential duty, and you forfeit a leadership tool. Intentionally create a healthy culture, and your team will thrive.

Excellence cannot be turned on and off like a light switch; it should always be in the on position. You must strive to build a culture with excellence in it so people care about what they do and whom they do it for.

The question is: What kind of culture do you have? In your workplace? In your personal life? And more importantly, do you like what you see?