In 1982 Tom Peters and Robert Waterman wrote the seminal management book ‘In Search of Excellence’ – which remains to this day, a bestseller and has been called The “Greatest Business Book of All Time” (Bloomsbury UK).

Based on a study of forty-three of America’s best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management – action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices – that made these organizations successful.

Tom has not let go of his theme – in fact in 2022 he published ‘Tom Peters’ Compact Guide to Excellence’ where he argues that “business leaders must start putting people really first and start helping them prepare for a rocky future. As we come to terms with the debilitating pandemic, confront extreme wealth inequality, and wrestle with destabilizing technological revolutions still in their infancy, it is clear that “Extreme Humanism”—treating one another humanely—is the best path forward.”

I was inspired to write about excellence today when I saw this question in a newsletter I subscribe to:

What advice can you give those of us looking for our life’s purpose?

It seems the purpose theme keeps coming up for me as I shared recently in this article:

Purpose has always been difficult to understand and define, especially when it’s always paired with the verb ‘to find’. To find ones purpose suggests that it is out there somewhere. Oftentimes we link purpose with career and if we aren’t fulfilled in our careers (many of us aren’t) we then say we don’t know what our purpose is. Purpose has become the thing that most people feel they’re not meant to find. It’s not for the majority…just a select few.

GISELLE P. HUDSON

The answer to the question was simple:

I would say, pursue excellence and ignore success. You know, success is a by-product of the pursuit of excellence.

Tom Peters shares on his site, that we need excellence more than ever.

In this free download are the following oaths as he calls them:

1. We shall talk about EXCELLENCE constantly.
2. We shall unfailingly aim for EXCELLENCE in all we do.
3. We shall use EXCELLENCE as the principal benchmark in the assessment of ourselves and our work and our impact on our Clients.

My takeaway is excellence is personal. The pursuit of excellence is a worthy journey to embark on today raising the bar on every single thing that you do.

As we start this week, the third in the year, let us really take a look at how we do what we do, because how we do anything is how we do everything so why not opt to pursue excellence in all that we do.