dispatches from the new world of work

14 April 2006/ Novosibirsk/Siberia

Tom on stage in Siberia

"It came in a flash." "It arrived from the recesses of my mind." I hate language like that!

But it's more or less true.

I was in—yes—Siberia. For an all-day seminar. It was, simply, odd to be there. Orlando is not odd. Istanbul is not odd. Riyadh is not odd. Novosibirsk is odd. (Odd = Totally new experience.)

As I said recently, I didn't want to do "one more speech"—actually, I never do, but this time was different. And, as I sat in my hotel room, "excellence seeped into my consciousness" (well, it did) for the first time in years.

And there on my cover slide appeared:

EXCELLENCE.
ALWAYS.

And the ground shifted perceptibly. Every speech since (about 50 this year), though unique in its own fashion, has been titled: EXCELLENCE. ALWAYS.

It's been a blast. It is a very cool word:

Synonyms:

Purity.
Transcendence.
Virtue.
Elegance.
Majesty.

Antonyms:

Mediocrity.

And the imagery it conjures up: Old Ben Franklin in Paris. Nelson at Trafalgar. Newton being bonked by the apple. (Okay, that one's not true; neither is the cherry tree decapitation—but the images work anyway.) The Grand Canyon. Grey Meadow Farm/Tinmouth/VT. Hillary at the top of Mount Everest. (No, not Ms Clinton.) Callas in full voice. Churchill at the radio mike. An Apple II, circa 1981. An iPod, circa 2006.

And as Waterman and I said almost 25 years ago: In enterprise! In a career!

Excellence.
What a word.
What an Aspiration.

Welcome back. And thanks, my friends in Novosibirsk.

Tom Peters posted this on 12/28/06.

Comments

For me the reason 'excellence' is such a wonderful word is becuse it is immortal, we set our own excellence standard and the word always makes us aim high.

Posted by Trevor Gay at December 28, 2006 5:35 PM

Picking words that last is really hard.

You can't beat Excellence.

It does exactly what it says on the tin. It never fades or goes out of fashion and is always the ultimate goal.

Posted by Richard Michie at December 28, 2006 6:03 PM

The only drama with excellence that I see is when org's mistake their mediocrity for it.... "Yes we are excellent, always have been, and furthemore let me tell you about..." 6-12 months later they are in the headlines for being crap...

Excellence therefore compared to what... mediocrity but only if they know they are that.

Posted by Steve Gray at December 28, 2006 8:19 PM

Tom - You seem to spend more time than almost anyone I can think of in Siberia. Very interesting: especially considering the topic you lecture on. I wonder how long it will take for the place will turn up in the HBS literature! - Happy New Year

Posted by Daniel M Harrison at December 29, 2006 6:45 AM

Excellence!!! Cool word for the western part of the world; but unknown to the Africa continent. CAN YOU HELP? Is the world really flat?

Posted by Gary K. at December 29, 2006 8:08 AM

Ease & exellence & grace - programme it in & a divine - fun 2.007 is there for the taking!

Posted by sean_ease at December 29, 2006 9:36 AM

Often "excellence" is used without actual execution...thus another overused term.
Perhaps better: "execution and effective."

Posted by Jim Baker at December 29, 2006 10:43 AM

Hey ... wait a minute ... is that an orange tie AND a left handed salute?! I believe in Siberia that means it is time to snack on Icelandic cod with Vodka chasers ... ??? :>]

Posted by sean_novo at December 29, 2006 1:00 PM

Hey, wikipedia has a nice take on "excellence" as contrasted with "success." Quoting Brian Harbour, "Success means being the best. Excellence means being your best. Success, to many, means being better than everyone else. Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excellence

Posted by John O'Leary at December 29, 2006 1:57 PM