Words & Meaning (2): Excellence

So we are all In Search Of Excellence and we all need A Passion For Excellence*. However there is also The Paradox Of Excellence. Hang on - I thought excellence is good? How can it be bad? Someone should tell these guys. In some ways this is a relief as all those times I thought I was screwing up I was actually unconsciously avoiding the paradox of excellence. Phew!

So excellence seems to boil down to: "Doing stuff well". Or even "Not screwing up". So far, so uncontroversial. However, this means that if you tell your people "We expect excellence" and then don't tell them what that actually means, you have pretty much given them a cast-iron, 5-star guarantee to fail. Unless you have hired telepaths. In which case they know all about that almost-forgotten tryst with the CFO's wife in a yuletide stationery closet. These are not people you can fire without expensive "favours" from New Jersey's finest waste disposal consultants. This factor may outweigh their abilities to predict your every whim in the cost/benefit stakes.

So communicating intent becomes important. Klein talks about 7 things that need to be communicated:
1. Purpose of task (higher level goal)
2. Objective of task (image of desired outcome)
3. Sequence of steps in plan
4. Rational for plan
5. Key decisions that need to be made
6. Antigoals (unwanted outcomes)
7. Constraints

To find out more, read the book. So bear this in mind when asking for excellence. If you don't ask for a sandwich, don't be surprised is someone hands you one of these high value items instead.

*This is a book that claims to "take you from behind". Call me picky, but I don't like my literature to assault me. Any book that tries to get me in a chokehold will find itself in the shredder pretty darn quick. My grandmother warned me about consultants like you, Peters.