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

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? It is Average who has kidnapped Excellence and replaced Excellence’s team with his own: N. Different, N. Ept, N. Flexible, Miss Communication, and Poser. But a mysterious ransom note sparks a 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.