When I chose literature as a career and life path, being the best meant degrees, publications, and all that academia entails. As the world has changed at a dizzying pace, the bar keeps moving. Is it about followers, content quantity, or social media relevance? Our expert will share their experiences.
Excellence Now Means Exclusive Tenant Representation
Holding the SIOR designation and working in commercial real estate for decades, I have seen “being the best” shift from chasing high transaction volume to providing absolute, conflict-free loyalty. A decade ago, dual-agency was standard; today, excellence means representing tenants exclusively.
After years of representing major landlords at Highwoods Properties in North Carolina and Oxford Development, I saw how tenants were underserved. In 2010, I founded my own firm to eliminate those conflicts and advocate solely for the tenant’s fiduciary interest.
If you are looking to lease office space in southwestern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh is a dynamic market where tenants need specialized local guidance. Having an independent tenant representative who knows this region ensures you secure the best space on the most favorable terms.
Jack Donahue SIOR, President & Founder, Donahue Real Estate Advisors
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Best Tech Aligns Execution with Business Impact
The leading companies in the technology industry today do not define their leadership with clean code or complicated architecture. Rather, they determine their leadership by aligning the speed of technical implementation with the measurable impact on business outcomes. Ten years ago, companies judged success on technical output – whether projects met deliverables, reduced errors and matched specifications – and the best companies executed to plan. Today, execution is simply the threshold of entry. In addition, leadership characteristics have changed from technical to strategic integration. As opposed to requesting code from a provider, clients now expect providers to deliver measurable business results. The best provide partnerships by understanding how the business logic works prior to writing a single line of code. I have observed many failures with projects not because of engineering performance, but rather because the end product provided a solution to a made up problem or neglected how the solution would actually work in the business of the end client.
The same principle applies to teams pursuing AI integrations. The immediate reaction is to pursue the most complex model; however, the team that identifies the easiest manual task to automate will save the most hours or provide the greatest revenue generation. Restraint and focus are the priorities. Throughout my experience in working with global companies, the most successful solutions have often been the ones that are never seen by the user but add significant value to the company’s bottom line. To be the best now requires an ability to simplify, align and deliver results beyond the application of software.
Kuldeep Kundal, Founder & CEO, CISIN
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Empower Teams and Clients with Practical AI
Being the best today means empowering your teams with tools to allow them to have agency. This agency can then be used to deliver great client outcomes and experiences while enabling your team to move faster and solve more problems. For us, this agency came with AI. It allows less technical members of the team to deliver tremendous results without waiting on engineers or specialists. It allows the entire organization to work faster, more autonomously, but all with the central goal of helping our clients.
Additionally, it has to be more than just serving clients. If you serve clients well but your employees hate working for you, you’re not the best. You can only be the best if you’re holistically serving both your clients and employees. This employee satisfaction will also shine through to the experience of the clients and employees alike.
David Wachs, CEO, Handwrytten
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Judgment, Trust, and Results Define True Expertise
Previously, I believed that being the best means having more knowledge than others. After my graduation from Indiana University Indianapolis in 2014, I have been working in areas such as enterprise automation, cyber security, software systems, and SEO. I have continued to accumulate tools, programming skills, and cyber security knowledge thinking that knowledge is power.
The myth is dead as information became abundantly available. Anyone can have an answer in seconds, and AI can suggest thoughts quickly. In developing SeoSets, I realized that my customers don’t need information; they need decisions and implementation.
Now the difference is judgment and implementation. Everyone knows what to do, but very few implement their knowledge. I have even seen some SEO analysis reports left untouched for several months.
Trust is more important than jargon or deep understanding. Clients want transparency and honesty. Telling your client that “this won’t work” will make you more credible than acting like you know everything for sure.
Change constantly influences search, artificial intelligence, security, and user behavior. Methods that were successful before may stop working right away. Being too stubborn about methods that once brought success is very dangerous.
Being the best means not to be the one with the most knowledge but to make smarter decisions based on the same amount of information and to deliver the result. Methods change rapidly. Results don’t.
Arpit Jain, Owner, SEO Sets
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Design Takes Backseat, Integrated Results Lead
I must confess that my perception of the agencies back then was different. I’m one of those who pay attention to portfolio, awards, and overall visual appeal of a website. At that time, website design was regarded as the end result. It was presumed that if it looks good, everything is fine. However, after spending ten years analyzing project failures and success, I’ve realized that it’s not always like that. Some of the most attractive-looking websites had no business benefit at all, while some unattractive ones helped to grow business and make money.
In today’s world, the concept of being the best has become extremely pragmatic. Instead of asking questions regarding the features, leadership teams ask about qualified leads, conversion ratios, search visibility, customer retention, efficiency, and growth. Websites are no longer considered to be digital brochures. They are business infrastructures. Irrespective of whether we are working on strategy, user experience, development, SEO, branding, artificial intelligence (AI) automation, or local search, the question remains one – will it help the business move forward?
Another lesson I have learned time and time again is that companies struggle when their vendors work in silos. There can be disconnects between design, development, SEO, and strategy. Clients could not less care who does what, but rather whether the project comes together. The companies that excel are those that tie all of these disciplines together towards a common objective.
I have learned that sometimes reliability wins out over genius more than one would think. While there may be many companies that could give an impressive presentation, there are far fewer that can communicate effectively, follow through on their commitments, and fix problems. Experience tends to teach humility.
The availability of AI hasn’t changed the job. The software is available to all. It is simply a matter of discretion. Knowing how to use certain things and why to overlook others is essential. We no longer sell websites; we sell results.
James Weiss, Managing Director, Big Drop Inc.
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Consistency and Clarity Now Trump Clever Campaigns
Ten years ago what made you the best in brand communication was having the cleverest campaigns and catchiest slogans. People would talk about them. They would share them.
Memorable was the benchmark a decade ago. Today it’s whether your message drove somebody towards a decision. Not if it was clever enough to capture attention. The world’s audiences are more jaded than they were ten years ago. There’s more content coming at them than ever before. That means being clever doesn’t have the impact that it used to.
The larger change is that consistency matters more than it did. You could have one amazing campaign ten years ago and coast off that reputation for years. But today’s audiences see your brand at so many touchpoints that consistency through every brand interaction matters more than any one roll-out. Being the best today means that your brand voice is instantly recognizable whether someone sees it in a thirty second spot, a customer service email, or a one line social post.
One thing that hasn’t changed is simple clarity will always beat being cute. Ten years ago that was true. Today it’s still true, even as everything else has changed around it.
Jimi Gibson, VP of Brand Communication, Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
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Reputation, Longevity, and Results Set the Best
It takes a completely different meaning for being the best in my industry in today’s day and age compared to the time when I started my company CuraDebt in 2000 at the age of 27. The debt settlement industry was not as transparent back then. Most of us, myself included, had the mindset that was all about the flow of leads, enrollment, and money.
That is no longer the case, as reputation becomes the scorecard. CuraDebt boasts an A+ BBB rating and also has well over 1,300 five-star reviews. In a world where one can do research on you within minutes, all customer experiences matter.
Only after you get past that do you recognize the fact that selling is easy; it’s how long clients stay in the program and whether the results meet the promised expectations that matters. Those companies which made a living on sales by force didn’t survive for long. I saw them all vanish while others survived with solid customer service.
We also had consumer debts, taxes debts, business debts, and student loans covered in one place. This requires discipline. My engineering education from UC San Diego made me see it as a system rather than an ordinary process.
I look at results as a measure of what makes something the “best” now. Things like complaint records, certifications from organizations such as BSI, AFCC, and IAPDA, and longevity are more important to me than marketing hype. With over 20 years of experience with CuraDebt behind me, I am no longer impressed with growth stories and more interested in results.
Eric Pemper, Managing Member, CuraDebt
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Trust and Simplicity Outweigh Speed in Real Estate
The key attributes of being the Best in real estate investment today is Trust, and Simplicity; not only speedy closings. 10 years ago, the industry was focused on volume. Clients now require that the process be fair and devoid of any realtor fees, and that it be quick and hassle-free with no lengthy waiting periods.
Using data to make competitive cash offers, but trust comes from a personal touch. We strive to be fair, honest, and do our best to serve our clients, and we are never going to take a discount from our clients. That’s what being the best is to us.
Blake DeWitt, CEO, Investorade
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Leaders Prioritize Safe Formulas and Full Transparency
Lead once meant darkest tan. Today it means safest formula.
10 years ago industry competitors talked almost exclusively about how many shades they offered and how dark those shades could get. Mentioning ingredient quality was unnecessary because very few consumers or even professionals were asking about it. That has shifted. No professional picks a brand without considering what’s not in the bottle. And consumers and artists alike want to know their tan isn’t coming at the expense of their skin’s health. Artists want to stand behind their product. That means knowing and understanding every ingredient in it.
Bearing that responsibility changed what it means to be a leader in the industry. Today’s leaders manufacture to standards that exceed testing, not just advertising claims. They own their process from start to finish rather than using a formula made by someone else. Transparency is the competitive advantage for brands who lead today. Five years ago it was simply a requirement by regulators. Today’s leaders are the brands that their customers can trust.
Michael Sjolie, CEO, Skin Expert, SJOLIE
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Reliability and Scalable Systems Now Define AV
Ten years ago if you wanted to be the best AV production company you invested in the highest end kit and put the best available hands on your call sheet.
Don’t get me wrong that mentality still exists but has been surpassed by something less tangible. Today if you want to be the best AV production company you have to be the most reliable when there is pressure, in unfamiliar markets and with people who you may have never met face to face before your crews arrive onsite. The AV industry has gone national and clients now expect flawless execution whether that event takes place in their hometown or a market their company has never produced in before. That one change alone elevated the bar from simply having the technical expertise to creating operational consistency at a national scale.
The second shift is the reliance of trust on systems versus people. Ten years ago your reputation was built on a few superstar technicians. Today your reputation is based on if your organization can replicate that same experience in city A when the founder and superstar technicians are running the show in city B. If you want to be the best you have to build something that performs when you are not in the room.
Silver Grifo, Audio Visual Production Operator & Owner, Audio Visual Nation
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Fast, Practical Counsel with Tech-Forward Mastery
We run a fast-growing business law firm with ten branches. The customer expectations in our industry are changing rapidly. Our clients want quick service and practical solutions more now than ever. They also want us to be able to master technology, from using Zoom or Teams for meetings and AI to augment research and drafting. Being the best now is a lot different than it was in 2016. We expect that change to keep coming, so being the best now means staying ahead of those curves.
Matthew Davis, Business Lawyer & Firm Owner, Davis Business Law
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Systems and Responsiveness Elevate Modern Dental Care
The best dentistry practice in the country now is a practice where clinical efficiency and operational efficiency are as predictably good because patients just know when they visit one. For the past decade or more, I’ve noticed an increased movement away from individual accomplishment and toward the strength of the system that accompanies it. Even as an endodontist and a practice owner, I’ve learned nothing could be truer than to say great treatment doesn’t matter if referral patients are sitting on a message line for three days before someone calls them back, or missed appointments don’t follow up at all, or nobody knows whether they can actually reach the office!
Today, responsiveness is about quality.
Offices that respond better will earn more business simply based on the ease with which they operate and by establishing a more reliable framework for ongoing treatment coordination that patients and referral sources appreciate more and more over time. I also like to think of the concept of, “What the best dentists/specialists are best at is not doing everything; it’s creating the systems by which other people doing their jobs well enable the practice owner to do his/hers.” I hope to work toward that model.
Dr. Angela Leung DDS, Endodontist, Remote Dental, LLC
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Simplicity and Reliability Beat Feature Bloat
Being the best inventory software is no longer about having more features; it’s about consistently solving operational problems faced on a daily basis. Back when we launched inFlow, the length of a software feature list often determined how it was evaluated. Now they want precise inventory from many sales channels, fast barcode scanning, great integrations, and workflows that employees can learn very quickly. The standard has changed from “What can software do? to “How reliable is it for my business?
As a software developer, one of the basic lessons I have learned is that SIMPLE IS OFTEN BETTER THAN COMPLEX. We have seen some who moved from systems full of features to simpler solutions because the staff didn’t know how to use the software, which consequently caused discrepancies. The greatest inventory software is not the one with the most features, but rather that which your team has confidence using effectively on a daily basis.
Louis Leung, Co-founder & Software Developer, inFlow Inventory
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Specialize, Diversify, and Communicate to Win
To be the best at digital marketing, apparently, you have to be what “full-stack devs” were some years ago. Clients want someone that’s as good at on-page SEO as they are with web development. Of course, that doesn’t work in practice.
For an SEO, I’d say you have to excel at one thing, be great at another, and have a working knowledge of the rest. But most importantly, you have to be an excellent communicator.
Miloš Lepotić, Growth & SEO Lead, Good Seed Marketing Co.
Have Your Say
How has your definition of excellence changed over time? Join the conversation by sharing your perspective.
- What quality matters most in today’s workplace?
- Which insight resonated with you the most?
- How do you measure success in your own field?
Alignment with the UN SDGs
- SDG 8: Decent work and sustainable business.
- SDG 9: Innovation and resilient industries.
- SDG 4: Lifelong learning and professional development.
- SDG 17: Knowledge sharing.
Note: The views and opinions expressed in the content provided on this page are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organizations mentioned. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as professional advice. Readers should consult with relevant experts or professionals for guidance specific to their circumstances. The examples used are for illustrative purposes and results may vary depending on various factors. Any external links provided are for convenience, and we do not endorse or take responsibility for the content, products, or services available through these links.
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