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Show LET'S RECOGNIZE AND REWARD EXCELLENCE Can a society as committed com-mitted to equality as ours nurture excellence? Can we forge ahead, in the world, the future, in research, science, sci-ence, arts and business? Here, the President of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., points out not only that we can, but we must! By Dexter F, Baker . , ' -: -.. Is excellence at odds with equality? I think not. American Amer-ican society departed from a 1 .- fi! hprprlihrv If, I aristocracy, j and moved I toward an j a r i s t o cracy f of talent, ' where reward Baker is earned and the most talented move to the top. Excellence is not given it is earned and cultivated. cul-tivated. The idea we pursue is a society where all have equal opportunity, but those who achieve more are specially rewarded. To ensure excellence, we must first acknowledge that superior attainment by in-. in-. dividuals is essential to our continued strength as a dominant economic power and a free people. Second, we must recognize recog-nize and reward excellence. The more talented an individual, indi-vidual, the more demanding society is of his or her talents, the greater should be the honor and reward. Third, we must make sure flil ill ll : A society that is committed to equality must develop ways to foster and reward genius. conditions in our society encourage excellence to flourish. A free society needs talented individuals to make it work, and conversely, con-versely, talent is most productive pro-ductive in a free society. Our organizations must not lose sight of the fact that however large they may become, the wellspring of their greatness, creativity and innovation will always reside in the quality of the individuals who comprise them. What is required of the individual in his or her personal per-sonal quest for excellence is, first, education and education educa-tion on a continuing basis. Second, the individual who aspires to excellence must set high goals. In business, busi-ness, as in other endeavors, goals are the incentive. Desire De-sire can carry an individual further than abilities alone. Excellence is an active quality evidenced by and during performance, recognized recog-nized only in action. The sense of commitment, more than anything else, will determine de-termine whether one attains excellence or merely aspires as-pires to it. American business is more in need of individuals who aspire to excellence than ever before. We stand at a point where business faces enormous challenges: energy en-ergy resource development and use; environmental concerns, con-cerns, productivity, confidence confi-dence in our leadership. One of the great qualities of American culture is that we are willing to acknowledge acknowl-edge a measure of the hero in all fields. We do not reserve the ideals of high achievement and excellence' for sports or the military, but have built a spirit of contest and reward into the fabric of American commerce. |