Quotes About Excellence

To be rigorous means consistently applying exacting standards at all times and at all levels, especially in upper management. To be rigorous, not ruthless, means that the best people need not worry about their positions and can concentrate fully on their work.

The only way to deliver to the people who are achieving is to not burden them with the people who are not achieving.

Hedgehog Concept—disciplined action, following from disciplined people who exercise disciplined thought.

the single most important skill for building a great company is making superb people decisions. Without the right people, you simply cannot build a great company, period.

Sustained great results depend upon building a culture full of self-disciplined people who take disciplined action, fanatically consistent with the three circles.

part, always great," he said. "They never had to turn themselves from good companies into great companies. They had parents like David

to create great results requires a nearly fanatical dedication to the idea of consistency within the Hedgehog Concept.

doing what you are good at will only make you good;

focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness.

Good is the enemy of great. And

A Hedgehog Concept is a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deeply understanding the intersection of the following three circles: (1) what you're deeply passionate about, (2) what you can be the best in the world at, and (3) what best drives your economic engine.

It is an understanding of what you can be the best at. The distinction is absolutely crucial.

if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don't need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great.

And if you cannot be the best in the world at your core business, then your core business cannot form the basis of your Hedgehog Concept.

For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquillity that comes from knowing that you've had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered.

Smith never wavered. Twenty-five years later, Kimberly-Clark owned Scott Paper outright and beat Procter & Gamble in six of eight product categories.12 In retirement, Smith reflected on his exceptional performance, saying simply, "I never stopped trying to become qualified for the job."13

Merck • Corporate social responsibility • Unequivocal excellence in all aspects of the company • Science-based innovation • Honesty and integrity • Profit, but profit from work that benefits humanity Nordstrom

James C. Collins

Nordstrom • Service to the customer above all else • Hard work and individual productivity • Never being satisfied • Excellence in reputation; being part of something special Philip

Letting the wrong people hang around is unfair to all the right people, as they inevitably find themselves compensating for the inadequacies of the wrong people. Worse, it can drive away the best people. Strong performers are intrinsically motivated by performance, and when they see their efforts impeded by carrying extra weight, they eventually become frustrated. Waiting

Indeed, one of the crucial elements in taking a company from good to great is somewhat paradoxical. You need executives, on the one hand, who argue and debate—sometimes violently—in pursuit of the best answers, yet, on the other hand, who unify fully behind a decision, regardless of parochial interests.

Legend, tradition, history can drive a commitment to excellence that raises people and has them perform at a level above anything they ever dreamed they could do. And it makes all of us realize the potential that everybody has who serves for you and goes to sea on ships.

My uncle is in the hall of fame for creating by hand some of the most intricate Indian Mardi Gras garb.

My uncles and my aunts were outstanding. There's just no other way to say it.