Focus goes on business excellence

Tony Collins.

NZ Chambers of Commerce Northland has been organising and co-ordinating the Northland Business Excellence Awards for at least 30 years.

For the last 14 years Westpac has been the event's major sponsor.

The awards provide an opportunity to celebrate business excellence and the role it plays in our community.

Through business, countless individuals can apply their talents to achieve their own aspirations and provide service for others. The awards are open to all Northland businesses and are free to enter.

The awards also reinforce that operating a business is a discipline that requires more than just providing a product or service.

It requires the owner to truly understand how their product or service is delivered to market, how they set their goal and aspirations and how they establish who their market is and what their market needs.

An entrant's performance is rigorously tested against a number of key criteria and that business's vision and strategic plan.

Success cannot be measured without a business first having set clear goals. In many cases these are closely aligned to the personal aspirations of the people and families who own these businesses.

It is about excellent business leaders with excellent staff delivering excellent products and services to market.

It is about achieving success through a deliberate plan of action based on the owner's aspirations. More often than not this incorporates a high degree of innovation and passion that sets these organisations apart from the rest. If you know a business that fits these criteria then we at the Chamber would love to hear from you.

Many of Northland's prominent business people past and present have played an active role in shaping the region through their commercial enterprises and civic activities. These awards provide a great opportunity for Northlanders to celebrate those amongst us who have made significant contributions to making our region a better place.

We believe there is no wrong time to enter the awards as businesses are, or should be, constantly examining how they operate, monitor their results and modify their behaviour accordingly.

Many entrants comment that they are initially quite daunted by the process when they first read the entry form but soon realise that much of what it contains are things that they do and can be easily answered.

We are committed to making the process as easy as possible for entrants through individual support and group workshops. If you want to know more about how to enter contact us at the Chamber.