The Paradox of Excellence: How Great Performance Can Kill Your Business

"I work with hundreds of CEOs and have seen the 'paradox of excellence' occur in companies of all types and sizes.  David Mosby and Michael Weissman have written an important book that is not only easy and fun to read, but can enable great companies to become truly great in the eyes of those who matter--their customers. The Paradox of Excellence cleverly explains why companies must work as a team to identify, understand, and manage the ever-changing expectations of their customers.”
--Paul Witkay, founder and CEO, Alliance of Chief Executives

"This book reveals a powerful new formula for every business to become distinct and not extinct!"
--Ram Charan, coauthor, Confronting Reality and Execution, and author, Boards That Deliver

"The Paradox of Excellence is a must-read for any company executive.  In today's competitive environment, it is all too easy to become ‘invisible’ to our customers and lead to undesired consequences. This book helps put into perspective issues facing many businesses today."
--Garry Betty, CEO, Earthlink

"The Paradox of Excellence is a quick read and an excellent investment of your time. It provides a meaningful guide to improving communications and interactions with your customers."
--Jerry McElhatton, president, Global Technology & Operations, MasterCard International

"The message you are delivering is very important to all companies regardless of size or success. In my thirty-four years in business and eight as a college president, I have often seen and experienced the paradox of excellence phenomenon. This is a must-read for all in today's business and service environment"
--Bill Galvin, retired vice chairman, Xerox Corporation, and retired president, Babson College

"A fresh idea made very accessible¾definitely worth reading!"
--Ron Okamoto, vice president, Worldwide Developer Relations, Apple Computer

"The Paradox of Excellence teaches a fundamental management lesson nestled in an involving, suspenseful story--operations excellence leading to high expectations coupled with inadequate management of your brand can be a recipe for disaster."
--David Aaker, vice chairman, Prophet, and author, Brand Portfolio Strategy

"I was so impressed with your book. I’m going to order an advanced copy for myself and members of my management team."
--Joan Waltman, president, Wireless Business Solutions

"Extremely clear and concise with actual remedies instead of only theories.  A must read for anyone in sales, marketing and general management responsibilities."
--Jackie Meyer, marketing director, Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions

"David Mosby and Michael Weissman have hit the nail on the head with this interesting and understandable look at how outstanding performance can ultimately shipwreck a healthy organization."
--Tim Allen, senior director of operations- Ingram Micro Logistics

"You put words to my intuition. I have been struggling with this issue and now it has a name! The Paradox of Excellence is a must-read for start-ups, mature companies, and service providers alike. Our company has already begun shattering the paradox and continuing our pursuit of excellence."
--Pierce Plam, CEO, Dealer Fusion, Inc.

"This book should be required reading of every sales team--without exception! In this day of hyper competition, the seemingly simple task of reminding our customers about our value and the impact we've had on their business should be paramount. Forgetting this simple rule of thumb, could result in the loss of so many things both valuable and important to us...Our customer relationships, our market share, and our strong reputation amongst our peers."
--Marc Mandel, global strategic solutions manager, OneSource Information Services Inc.

"The Paradox of Excellence does an excellent job of describing one of the overlooked subtleties of selling and managing client relationships."
--Bill Nichols, managing director, Milpitas Dedicated Fulfillment Center, Comac, an Iron Mountain Company

"Hidden in The Paradox of Excellence is a big idea: that expectations and satisfaction are dynamic and interdependent. As a market researcher, that idea has big implications. Yet, as a student of human nature, I am now convinced the idea’s impact could be even bigger. This little tome could influence how families, employees, companies and other groups interact--for the good!"
--Michael Kelly, CEO, Techtel Corporation

"The Paradox of Excellence is something all organizations should be aware of. It is simply not enough to be excellent if one allows its customers or competitors to define the playing field. Mosby and Weissman point out beautifully that organizations such as these need to constantly provide the context for which they want to be judged."
--Brian Barefoot, president, Babson College and former senior managing director, Merrill Lynch

"Any company’s pursuit of excellence is not without its unintended consequences. Mosby & Weissman have done a masterful job in raising awareness and preparing business leaders to create a profitable & sustainable competitive advantage. If you have an ‘Ear to hear’ the message of The Paradox of Excellence, it’s a must read."
--Len DiGiovanni, president, Impact, Inc.

"This book described perfectly how we fall victim to The Paradox of Excellence. We have a saying in our office: 'you’re only as good as your last mistake.’ The creative services industry is very different from the shipping company described in the book. However, the problem is identical to the ones we face with our long-term clients. I will use what I’ve learned in this book to ensure we don't turn some of our minor mistakes into crises."
--Patty Jensen, vice president, Client Services, Jensen Design Associates

"In today’s fast paced environment, it is easy to neglect the aspects of life that are not troublesome. The Paradox of Excellence reminds us of the importance of the aspects of life that work or operate well.  It provides another tool to eliminate poor communication as a reason to have problems."
--Bob Verret, CIO, Integres Global Logistics

"The lessons learned in The Paradox of Excellence apply not only to companies of all sizes but to individual professionals like myself as well. As a Realtor, client referrals are the way I grow my business and this book has taught me how to keep my superb performance on the minds of my clients."
--John A. Brassner, realtor, Coldwell Banker Premier Realty, Las Vegas

"Ostensibly a business book essential to managers; but under the covers it’s filled with insight for everyone in the enterprise. Taking you through a quick succession of alternately entertaining and thought provoking chapters, it gave me a new perspective on communicating our company’s strengths. As a must read for the whole team, The Paradox of Excellence has also helped us shape our product to reach out to our customers in new ways. Bravo!"
--Sam M. Sawires, CEO, Salveo, Inc.

"Talk about a book that applies to all businesses!  I was a bit skeptical when I first picked up the book, thinking that The Paradox of Excellence probably wouldn’t apply to my business, Architecture. But wow was I wrong. In the course of the following hour, I discovered that yes; we suffer from the same issues. I see now that we need to constantly reinforce our excellent performance with our clients – not just when we market a new client or complete for a specific design opportunity – but continually while we provide services. We have known for years the value of repeat clients, and generally we have been successful, but with this new understanding, there is no reason why we can't sustain our client relationships for years to come."
--Bob Riegel, Architect, SE, principal, The KPA Group, Oakland/San Francisco, California

"There are no simple, smooth transactions in the real estate business.   Difficulties always occur. To provide stress-free transactions for clients, real estate professionals usually try to give the appearance of a smooth process when dealing with clients. Since reading The Paradox of Excellence, I have been experimenting with being more frank with clients - discussing the difficulties and how I’ve resolved them. As a result, I have found client satisfaction with my service has gone way, way up!  I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who provides any kind of service to others."
--Paul Grabowsky, mortgage broker, Union Trust Mortgage Services

"Anyone running a services or specialty retail business should take The Paradox of Excellence to heart. Mosby and Weissman illustrate the importance of understanding your business through the customer's eyes and reinforce the real costs of failing to match your service with their perception of value. As founder of a company involved in helping customers reach their goals for fitness and wellness, I found The Paradox of Excellence very useful in creating customer retention and renewal programs."
--Steve Bertges, founder, Fit to GO Studios, Inc.

"The Paradox of Excellence is a great ‘new’ frame of reference that people can easily latch on to. It was a pleasure to read."
--Jon Safer, president, Bridge International Group, LLC

"The parable made it possible and even fun to read for me. Any organization that is trying to better itself and its image could use this info."
--Joan Wright, career public school teacher (retired)

"The Paradox of Excellence has put everyday work problems into something every profession can use. Even in health care, where patient care is our ‘product,’ the Paradox of Excellence rings true when your customer is used to getting the very best care, and only says something when a problem arises.  The book reminds us that nothing is perfect, and by getting our patients’ expectations under control we can then provide to them some concrete evidence of our value to their process of rehabilitation."
--Julie Choate, MPT, Physiotherapy Associates

"I enjoyed reading The Paradox of Excellence and saw many parallels in our wireless infrastructure business. We provide an invisible commodity to the end consumer, unless there's an outage. After reading the book, we have started to build new systems that make our true performance more visible to customers"
--Clark Smith, president, Western States Teleport

"We always see the difficult, rarely the obvious. After reading The Paradox of Excellence, I am now more aware of how the Paradox affects every area of our lives."
--Jeff Eitzen, pastor of worship and arts, Creekside Community Church