Are you striving for excellence yet find your efforts increasingly taken for granted and undervalued? You're not alone. Many companies discover their improved performance doesn't translate into higher perceived value. In fact, it simply shifts the customer's expectations upward, causing the customer to take the new, improved performance for granted. High-performance companies unwittingly create unrealistic customer expectations that become impossible to meet. In this important book, the authors use a realistic story that illustrates the paradox of excellence - the better you perform, the more invisible you become to everything but bad news - shows the symptoms and causes, and provides clear guidance for overcoming this perplexing dilemma. The Paradox of Excellence introduces an entertaining story with characters that are easy to relate to, ideas that can be readily implemented, and a practical framework for achieving long-term success.