Expect Excellence

Excellence has been defined as “possessing good qualities in an eminent degree; exalted merit; superiority in virtue.” Several years ago, In Search of Excellence, by Tom Peters became a New York Times bestseller, and “excellence” became a corporate watchword.

Today, excellence is still important to consumers and shareholders.

While many companies vie for competitive dominance, we know that not all number one companies are excellent—they’re just number one. “In the past, corporate excellence has been defined in terms of product quality, price, delivery time and profitability. But this definition will no longer suffice in the 21st century; excellent companies not only must pursue economic rationality, but social and environmental rationality.”

CEOs that make it clear to their employees, managers, officers and directors that they expect excellence are more likely to achieve such a goal, and be viewed by essential stakeholders as “excelling”. Today, “defining excellence – let alone searching for it – will prove more and more elusive”.

(c) 2008 Adonis E. Hoffman