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Define excellence vividly, quantitatively. Paint a picture for your most talented employees of what excellence looks like. Keep everyone pushing and pushing toward the right-hand edge of the bell curve.
Marcus Buckingham
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Excellence should be clearly defined and visually represented to inspire employees to strive for it.

Marcus Buckingham emphasizes the importance of defining excellence in a detailed and quantitative manner to motivate talented employees. By clearly illustrating what excellence looks like, leaders can inspire their team to continuously improve and aim for the highest standards, pushing the boundaries of their abilities and potential.

Themes

ExcellenceMotivationLeadershipPerformanceInspiration

In practice

Example use cases

In a team meeting to set goals and expectations for the upcoming project.

More from Marcus Buckingham

The best way to find out whether you're on the right path? Stop looking at the path.
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Strengths are not activities you're good at, they're activities that strengthen you. A strength is an activity that before you're doing it you look forward to doing it; while you're doing it, time goes by quickly and you can concentrate; after you've done it, it seems to fulfill a need of yours.
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There has to be a way to redirect employee's driving ambition and to channel it more productively. There is. Create heroes in every role. Make every role, performed at excellence, a respected profession.
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Most of my work has been in corporations, studying how you build an organization that helps people to identify and work to their strengths.
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The true genius of a great manager is his or her ability to individualize. A great manager is one who understands how to trip each person's trigger.
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Don't waste time trying to put in what was left out. Try to draw out what was left in.
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