I got so damn sick of “excellence,” so worn out by “excellence” … for years after “the book” became a hit. Distanced myself from it. Ran from it. (Though I willingly collected the royalties.) Now I’ve come full circle. Sure, I think In Search of … was a pretty good book. But I also think a lot of its success stemmed from the word “excellence” per se.
Excellence!
How cool!
What an aspiration!
What else is there?
In particular, no one before ISOE (perhaps) had used the word “excellence” and the word “business” in the same sentence!
Business, pre-1982? Efficiency. Adults only. Serious. Money. Humorless. By the numbers. Booooorrrring.
No! No! No! No!
Simple exam: synonyms and antonyms for “excellence.”
Excellence/Synonyms: Purity. Transcendence. Virtue. Elegance. Majesty.
Excellence/Antonyms: Mediocrity.
So, old-I is-am back! In love … AGAIN … with Excellence. And I have a new seminar-presentation title:
EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.
Launched it in, yes, Siberia!
Which leads me to …