Quotes on Excellence

Be aware that even before you have reached your ultimate professional destination, if you always strive for excellence, you can and should have a substantial impact on the world in which you live.

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.

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

The truth of an upright man must be accepted on his own terms. Moreover, since natures vary, we must agree that all the beauties of human excellence may be fostered by faiths that we do not share.

The rocks are where they are- and this is their will. The rivers flow- and this is their will. The birds fly- this is their will. Human beings talk- this is their will. The seasons change, heaven sends down rain or snow, the earth occasionally shakes, the waves roll, the stars shine- each of them follows its own will. To be is to will and so is to become.

True perfection is unattainable, but if you chase perfection you will catch excellence!

Believe passionately in what you do, and never knowingly compromise your standards and values. Act like a true professional, aiming for true excellence, and the money will follow.

To push for excellence today without continuing to push for access for less privileged students is to undermine the crucial but incomplete gains that have been made. Equity and excellence cannot be divided.

I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.

One's only security in life comes from doing something uncommonly well.

Excellence endures and sustains. It goes beyond motivation into the realms of inspiration.

Aspire greatly; anything less than a commitment to excellence becomes an acceptance of mediocrity.

It's a fine thing to rise above pride, but you must have pride in order to do so.

Excellence is the best weapon against prejudice. I intend to be part of the solution and not the problem. You've just got to keep on banging out good performances.

Excellence matters, and technology advances so fast that the potential for improvement is tremendous. So, since becoming CEO again, I've pushed hard to increase our velocity, improve our execution, and focus on the big bets that will make a difference in the world.

It's not enough to do your best; you must know what to do & then do your best.

But such occasions of excellence became less and less frequent. As her technique became sounder, [her] sincerity became less necessary.

It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't.

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.

It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.