The opposite of excellence is not failure, but mediocrity. By Edward Baugh When I accepted, hesitatingly, the invitation to write this piece, I knew right away that I was submitting myself to the challenge and threat of excellence. I would have to “come good”; I would have to aim at excellence; I would have to […]
Journalism shows how personal and professional integrity are crucial to the idea of excellence By David de Caires What constitutes excellence in journalism and newspaper publishing? I suggest that, to quote the legendary reporter I.F. Stone, we should try “to live up to (our) idealised image of what a good newspaperman should be.” After twenty […]
The consistent, sustained brilliance of Brian Lara is a marker of excellence By Barry Chevannes The young Lara had already made his name as a worthy successor to the great Vivian Richards. Whenever he stepped to the crease you expected a fluent knock of authority and grace, even if the style was different and the […]
There is never a time or place when excellence is irrelevant By Merle Collins When we talk of the pursuit of excellence, we are usually thinking of work within corporations. Or of education, of focused study for essays and examinations. But some notion of excellence exists for all. If you are able to give undivided […]
Alissandra Cummins In today’s society, the goal of achieving higher individual standards, in any field of endeavour, can easily come into conflict with a wider national agenda. For while the individual must be encouraged to excel, in a situation of structural inequality many others must also be encouraged simply to survive. The factors by which […]
We can assert our truest Caribbean identity only by reaching beyond mediocrity By Barbara Gloudon A perfectly-shaped orb, blood-red, stands on a pedestal. It seems to hold itself aloof from a sea of plastic flowers trying to pass themselves off as the real thing. I cannot resist. I feel compelled to touch, to sense the […]
In the drive towards perfection, the biggest enemy is mediocrity By Professor Ken Julien In any language, excellence is a word that arouses interest and expectation. But what does it really mean? Perhaps the simplest concept of excellence is striving after perfection – a perfection which perhaps can never be achieved. This suggests that excellence […]
How do we acquire it? How do we live it? By Ian McDonald So much begins with parents. Their daily, persevering, unending love and interest and example teach lessons which reach deep into us; we are nurtured and our minds and souls are formed into shapes and disciplines that last all our lives. I am […]
How the instinct for change takes root in the community By Father Gerard Pantin Many years ago, while I was studying in Ireland, I read an article by a world- famous expert on how to become an effective speaker or writer. It had a profound effect on me. It suggested that effective speaking or writing […]
Caribbean excellence is to be found among our creator-builders By Jeremy Taylor In the English language, certain words and phrases have been used so often, so relentlessly and so unthinkingly, that their meaning has drained out of them. In politics, “democracy”, “freedom”, “terror” and “liberal” are examples. In economics, “globalisation”, “free market”, “level playing field”. […]
