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

Who Kidnapped Excellence?

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.

Harry Paul has over thirty years’ experience in business, including management training and consulting, sales, distribution, product development, and international operations. He is the coauthor of six books, including Revved! (with Ross Reck) and the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Fish!
John Britt is director of healthcare solutions at Kforce. He has been assisting large organizations’ leadership and management with change for over twenty years. He is the coauthor, with Ken Blanchard, of Who Killed Change?
Ed Jent has been a minister of education for the past twenty-six years and has served in Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.

Foreword
Introduction
1. Excellence Kidnapped
2. The Demand for the Return of Excellence
3. Average and His Team Get to Work
4. Below Average
5. Passion Meets N. Different
6. Competency Meets N. Ept.
7. Flexibility Meets N. Flexibility
8. Communication Meets Miss Communication
9. Ownership Meets Poser
10. Leadership Meets the Employees
11. What Every Leader, Manager, Supervisor, and Employee Must Know About Excellence
Epilogue
Now ELEVATE Your Excellence!
5 People and Companies Who ‘Get It’
Jack, the Coffee Tastes Better When You Make It!
Baptist Hospital
First Choice Home Medical
Southwest Airlines
Mitchells Family of Stores
Galt House Hotel
Acknowledgments
About the Authors