Who Kidnapped Excellence?: What Stops Us from Giving and Being Our Best

"A fun and easy read that simply addresses the critical need for company cultures to never take their eyes off Excellence—as it can quickly disappear before you know it!" —Jon Headlee, President, Ten Adams, a health-care marketing and culture firm business

Most companies talk about excellence, but what does excellence really mean? What specific attitudes and practices lead to excellence? Drawing on years of study and decades of experience, authors Harry Paul, John Britt, and Ed Jent have zeroed in on five core qualities of excellence. In this entertaining and enlightening book, they tell how to give and be your best in each of these five critical dimensions and foster excellence in your organization and in your life.

The book begins with a crime being committed: Excellence (personified) has been kidnapped, and Leadership assembles Excellence's team (Passion, Flexibility, Communication, Competency, and Ownership) and challenges them to work together to get their Excellence back.And who is the culprit? Has Average kidnapped Excellence and replaced Excellence's team with his own: N. Different, N. Ept, N. Flexible, Miss Communication, and Poser? A mysterious ransom note sparks the struggle between Average and Excellence.

Integrated into this tale of organizational excellence is the story of Dave, a delivery man. The kidnapping causes Dave to contemplate his own life and relationships in a way that makes the paths of personal and organizational excellence cross and intertwine. Who Kidnapped Excellence? is a parable that helps organizations and individuals achieve their best in every aspect of their lives.

"To be excellent in our professional and personal lives is a choice. The authors make their points about achieving excellence using a fun 'whodunit' crime story that most of us will relate to. I highly recommend this book to all those seeking to develop or sustain excellence in their lives." —J. Talbot (Tal) Land, former Healthcare Consulting Partner, Ernst & Young