The Journey to Excellence (J2Ex) Program supports individuals, teams, businesses and organisations in their quest to turn dreams into reality. In doing so, it introduces them to new ways of thinking, and to a new paradigm of Excellence*. We see Excellence as a personal choice; as a mindset through which people and organisations of all sorts are able to enhance their sustainability and competitiveness – be it on a personal or an organisational level.

A dictionary would define Excellence as “being outstanding or exceptionally good, having extreme merit, being of extremely high quality, or being in a state of excelling”. In the Journey to Excellence Program, we also recognise that Excellence is about living life to the fullest, and about the joy and satisfaction in doing something really well – especially something about which one is passionate.

We also know that Excellence is a moving target – not someplace you go and then rest on your laurels. It is a way of life; it is about working hard – about practicing with great dedication, and it is about continually improving. This is true for an individual, a team, or an organisation – be it a small business, a large business, an NGO, a government, or even a social club.

At the same time, we recognise that it isn’t just the mindset—it is also about the tools and methodologies one employs. So besides being challenged to embrace Excellence, workshop participants always go away with a “toolbox” designed to support their Journey.

* Excellence Guru Tom Peters says Excellence is so important that it should always be capitalised. Who are we to argue?

Who is behind it?

J2Ex Program owner and developer Nina Mapili has more than 25 years of diverse international facilitation, management, and program development – and implementation! – experience. She has been specifically empowering entrepreneurs, managers and “people wanting to lead an enterprising life” since 1998. Her very extensive “on the ground” experience serves to keep the J2Ex Program rooted in the real world – very pragmatic and hands-on, and focused on those things that really make a difference.

The majority of Nina’s work has been in southern Africa – primarily in conjunction with SAFRI, the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business – but she has also presented J2Ex workshops in Europe. Nina works with a network of exciting people with very diverse backgrounds from across southern Africa. Thanks to them, the program is growing to reach more and more people and organisations, and expanding beyond core offerings.

What does Nina offer?
In addition to the core Journey to Excellence Program, Nina and a small team of people with various qualifications in the J2Ex program and beyond offer consulting, facilitation, training and mentoring services to businesses, organisations and individuals. Numerous auxiliary offerings are available within the greater Journey to Excellence program.  These are always customized to the specific needs of the client.  Special programs can also be developed to meet specific requirements.  The list below is representative, but not exhaustive.

• • Strategic Communication
  • Leadership Development
  • Recognition (outstanding achievement by companies on the J2Ex program)
  • Mentor Development / Mentoring of Mentors
  • J2Ex Facilitator Development
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Research
  • Diverse advisory services

Modus Operandi
Nina’s approach is designed to make excellence accessible to as many people, businesses and organisations as possible. TCYL and TCYM of course, are for individuals, but the majority of workshops are designed such that management teams from more than one business or other organisation can participate at once, thereby keeping costs manageable.

We are interested in developing sustainable relationships with both clients and partners. When working in the micro and small enterprise environment, we find it productive to work with development partners, whose co-financing makes it possible to develop not only businesses, but also business support organisations and business mentors. Please contact us if you have any questions or ideas about ways of engaging.

What it’s all about

Our vision: We envision people and organisations around the world experiencing the joy and satisfaction of excelling at things about which they are passionate.

Our mission: We empower people and their organisations – one step at a time. In other words: we support individuals, teams, businesses and organisations in their quest to turn dreams into reality.

Our values were inspired by EFQM’s Fundamental Concepts of Excellence:

• • Results Orientation: Excellence is achieving results that delight all key stakeholders.
  • Leadership and Constancy of Purpose: Excellence is visionary and inspirational leadership, coupled with a constancy of purpose – and agility.
  • Management by Processes and Facts: Excellence is managing through a set of interdependent and interrelated systems, processes and facts to reliably deliver excellent results in a timely manner.
  • People and Partnership Development: Excellence is maximising the contribution of people and partners through their development and involvement.
  • Continuous Learning, Innovation and Improvement: Excellence is challenging the status quo and effecting change by utilising learning to create innovation and improvement opportunities.
  • Values Orientation: Excellence is “walking the talk” of our values: serving as an inspiration and role model of excellence.