How important is excellence and quality in the Lord's work?

Thoughts on quality and excellence...

  • At Hewlett-Packard, there was a contest to caption a picture of several yellow baby chicks and one gray chick. The winner? "Paint it yellow and ship it!" This was NOT the HP-Way because also at Hewlett-Packard, co-founder David Packard was known to take ethics (including quality) very seriously. He was rumored to say that if anyone put profit or deadlines ahead of the right thing to do with regard to ethics and quality, he would personally have him fired. Both Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard took quality seriously, to be sure.

  • A long time ago, I received some liberating teaching. Mainly, it is this: Don't seek perfection - seek excellence. The remaining challenge? Balance and definition. What ceases to be a quest for excellence and becomes a campaign of perfection? Indeed, what is excellence as opposed to perfection?
  • One of my favorite choral experiences was in the Male Chorus at Anderson University. The director at the time, Dr. Gene Miller, said this with regard to quality: "Gentlemen, there is nothing inherently spiritual about mediocrity." Good enough often isn't.
  • During my pilgrimage, I have come to believe strongly that in all we do - whether in thought, word, or deed - we must seek godly excellence. Godly excellence, to me, is trying to do what I know will please God - not because I have to, but because I get to. All of this, of course, is done knowing that His grace abounds and that He knows what I'm capable of and what I'm settling for.
  • A challenge about quality is that it is so subjectively defined. "Good enough" for one may not be "Good enough" for another. This remains a burden for any strong leader. How can we as leaders link arms with those around us who really want to embrace mediocrity as the new sufficient level of excellence?

I write this not out of criticism but out of observation and a passionate desire to please the Lord. So, what say you? Is excellence worth pursuing? If so, what does it look like?

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