My business partner sent me this article called, The Inside Story: 5 Secrets To Pixar’s Success. A brief and enlightening read. Point number 5 is the one that really floored me, though. I’ve pasted it below:
Hire for Excellence. When Pixar is evaluating potential hires they look for three traits: humor, the ability to tell a story, and an example of excellence. These aren’t unique qualities to assess in applicants, but how excellence is defined is not that common. It doesn’t matter what you are excellent at, just that you have reached a level of excellence. It’s important that you know what excellence feels like and what it takes to achieve it. It could be gardening, jujitsu, or cooking. The main thing is you’ve had a taste of excellence and will know how to get there again.
I suppose if you read this blog frequently, it makes sense that this appeals to me. But that being said, I sometimes don’t think I really get the taste of excellence often enough. So many things get in the way of tasting that in my day-to-day life. Why do I allow that?
What does excellence feel like? And when is the last time I felt it?