I always love to share a weekly letter from guest columnists with our membership! This week, AME Champions Club member and guest columnist David A. Behling shares an interview with AME’s lifetime annual conference master of ceremonies and good friend, Jon Colby.
Jon Colby
As a world-famous Second City Conservatory comedy program graduate and an educator with 15 years of classroom experience, Jon Colby can keep an audience laughing while sharing practical knowledge that can be used right away. From presenting to performing, his engaging, interactive approach has successfully helped audiences across the globe to be better communicators, leaders, teammates, and even friends and family.
Recently named a "Top 10 Leading Speaker to Follow in 2025" by MSN, Colby returns as emcee to the AME International Conference for his sixth consecutive year! He has been empowering people with improv for over 25 years. You don't just listen to him speak — you play. To learn more, check out https://joncolby.com/.
David A. Behling
Guest columnist David A. Behling, LSSMBB, CMQ/OE, MBA, leads the improvement journey at Merritt Aluminum Products. Behling is a results-orientated change agent who creates value and space for growth in diverse organizations (manufacturing, service, government and non-profit) by building cultures of trust, respect, daily problem-solving and waste identification through servant leadership.
Talking Xcellence with… Jon Colby
Behling: What was your first exposure to Excellence?
Colby: When I graduated high school in Indiana, the tradition was to have an open house where you invite all your friends and family and have a big party. Everybody gives you a card with money in it. My best friend and I both got well over $1,000. We’re 17 or 18, and between the two of us, we have almost $3,000. So, we decide to go to New York because we were both in show choir, plays, musicals and stuff and wanted to see the big shows.
We went out to New York City, and it’s a very long story. Basically, we ran out of money while we were out there because we didn’t budget well. However, we went to four Broadway shows in three days. While we’d been in shows and seen community theater and even Broadway tours, neither of us had ever been to Broadway before. Seeing Broadway shows on a Broadway stage, and the caliber of the performances was unbelievable. I mean, because we had a theater background, we could even appreciate the tech and how clear the sound was in the orchestra. Just everything was perfect.
I remember seeing Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast and Grease. Every show felt perfect. So, when you ask about excellence, that’s the first thing that pops into my head. Where I’m like, all these people are the best at what they do, and they all came together to make something truly excellent. Yeah, it was awesome!
Behling: How would you define Excellence?
Colby: It’s not perfection. I think that’s something to be cautious of. I think we should strive for excellence, not perfection, because excellence is when people, who are working hard but also have a certain skill set or God-given ability, create something.
When I think of excellence, I think of a top-tier version of something that was created through hard work. For me, hard work is a part of it because some people are just naturally good at certain things. When you talk about Michael Jordan and LeBron James, and as much as I hate the Patriots, Tom Brady, you hear how they’re always the first ones in the gym. They’re the first ones working out. Not only do they have this natural ability, but they also work harder than everybody else. Kobe Bryant is famous for holding himself to these unattainable standards, but it’s what led him to win multiple rings (championships).
All these people I’m naming have won multiple rings. Creating excellence is something I don’t think a lot of people have the drive to do. I don’t mean that in a negative way. I’m just saying, I think that to truly create (and achieve) excellence, there’s something people are wired to push themselves toward.
Behling: How do you develop Excellence?
Colby: You, first, have to find what you’re passionate about. I know people in the speaking business who started out around the same time, but their goal was to make money. Somebody else made their goal to be famous or to be in certain circles. They’ve achieved certain levels of success, but I don’t think they’ll ever achieve excellence because you can tell the passion for speaking and helping people grow and improve isn’t there. I know other people who’ve overcome many more challenges to become amazing speakers because they’re passionate about the content. So, whether we’re talking about speaking on a stage, playing a sport, singing, creating art or whatever it is, I think you need passion to achieve excellence. There has to be a passion that drives you, and then the effort behind the passion can make it come to fruition.
Behling: How would you explain Excellence to an executive?
Colby: I started with the Broadway example where it’s all the people. I do coaching and consulting; I speak for companies, whether it’s a sales rally or an all-hands meeting. When I’m talking to executives, I have to make sure the business owner or executive understands that the people who work for them are not going to have the same passion that they have for their company because it’s their company. Owners have that drive, so what executives have to do is find what drives their people and give them the opportunity to do that.
For some — a very small portion — it’s money. Too often, people think that money is what drives people, but one study I read said only 6% of people are driven by money. What drives some people is having an opportunity to share their artistic vision and things. Some people want leadership opportunities. Some people thrive on a team and being able to be a part of one.
When it comes to creating excellence as a team, it’s about getting people in positions where they work best when they’re happy and proud of their work.
Behling: What is one of the main reasons to strive for Excellence?
Colby: Your Why!!! Just like what Simon Sinek talks about. Once you have your why, you know what it is that drives you. Our AME conference keynote speaker, Tim Hobbs, said he wants to do it to make his mom proud. Whether it’s to make yourself proud, to prove yourself you can do it, to make your family proud, or to do something you don’t think is possible, your own why is the reason to strive for excellence. I don’t know if that makes sense, but once you know what your why is, you do it to prove it.
Why do you paint an amazing painting? Because you have a vision, you want to make it you and want to see if you can create it. I have friends who’ve been on the production teams of brand-new musicals on Broadway, and they live to make something that people love and share this passion with people.
It’s hard; it’s such a hard question. One of the main reasons to strive for excellence is to prove to yourself or others that it can be done.
Behling: In your opinion, why don’t more organizations strive for Excellence?
Colby: Because it’s hard; you know that the status quo is safe. Risks are messy, and they’re scary. If our private company is making profits and continuing to move forward, well, sometimes that’s good enough. Then, once you become public, there are so many loopholes or barriers you have to jump over or things you have to get through just to try and do stuff. It’s just hard. So, a lot of people don’t strive for it because it’s easier not to do it.
Behling: What is the biggest opportunity for Excellence in today’s world?
Colby: My brain is going in one of two ways: (1) Technology with AI and all the things it can create; and (2) I think the bigger answer to the biggest opportunity is in doing what’s never been done. I think there are so many advancements that, five years ago, we couldn’t have dreamed of, but they are now possible. If you want to strive for excellence, it almost feels like there’s a lower bar to create excellence in something that’s never been done than to just repeat what’s already been done by somebody else.
Does that make sense? If somebody’s already done it, there’s already a measuring stick, and you’re going to compare what you do to something else. When you create something brand new, it can be mind-blowing just because people have never thought to do that or create it in that way. I keep going back to shows, but, when you see a Cirque du Soleil show… Oh my gosh, right?
They’re amazing. They’re excellent. And something you have never seen before. The shows run for years because the performers are excellent, the costume design is excellent, and the layout of the space is excellent. Then you remember, since it is easy to forget, it is live music. It all works: the flips, where and when they land, the sounds, etc.… You just can’t just phone it in. You have to watch and your conductor has to be right there on it. You know, it’s just impressive. I’ll leave it there.
Thank you, David Behling, for this insightful interview. And thank you, Jon Colby, for sharing your world with us. You know we consider you part of our AME family, and I promise again not to share how we met through the FBI. That’s for another story. Seriously, we value you so much and appreciate that you will be back with us this year at the AME St. Louis 2025 International Conference. Register now to grab our Early Bird pricing!
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
