Paul Buyer - Working Toward Excellence: 8 Values for Achieving Uncommon Success in Work and Life

WORKING TOWARD EXCELLENCE

Praise for Working Toward Excellence

Working Toward Excellence has captured my attention in a big way. It is filled with valuable and practical information. It will make a major difference in your life.

Pat Williams, Orlando Magic senior vice president, author of Leadership Excellence

Dr. Buyers excellent book weaves together thoughts, stories, and quotes from top performers in music, business, and sports to help you achieve excellence. This is an inspiring read for any performer who wants to take their game to the next level.

Jeff Janssen, author of The Seven Secrets of Successful Coaches and Championship Team Building

Pauls book is a treasure trove of great advice and counsel about working toward excellence. He has done a masterful job in researching great leaders and their approach to excellence. I believe it is definitely a must book and have provided a copy to all of our Head Coaches for their study and evaluation of how to work toward excellence, not only personally, but certainly for their teams and student-athletes.

Terry Don Phillips, Director of Athletics, Clemson University

In Working Toward Excellence, Paul Buyer takes a fresh look at an age old challenge: how to be the very best you can be. I was particularly engaged by Pauls use of unusual examples of excellence from The Cleveland Orchestra to Augusta National Golf Club. This is a book that grabs your attention, holds it, and motivates you to take action.

Joe Calloway, author of Becoming a Category of One

Paul Buyer, in his inimitable style, has created a really excellent book on working toward excellence what a perfect title! This book is a valuable read for anyone at any stage in their journey toward success, quality and excellence in their lives.

Gary Cook, Professor Emeritus of Music, University of Arizona; Past-President, Percussive Arts Society

Dr. Buyer has provided us with a handbook for the pursuit of excellencenot just in music, but in life. His eight uncommon values are valuable touchstones in a remarkable book that should provide an inspiration for anyone who reads it.

Dr. Richard E. Goodstein, Dean, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, Clemson University

Dr. Paul Buyer articulates and defines what is inherently indefinable. The author provides logical and concrete insights into the process of becoming excellent. Working Toward Excellence is a must read for anyone interested in achieving excellence in their field.

Dr. Michael Sammons, Director of Percussion, University of South Alabama

Working Toward Excellence is an exceptional new book about what it takes to stand out and achieve uncommon success in your industry. By breaking down values critical to achieving at a high level such as hunger, effort, leadership, time, and others, this book literally shows you how to work toward excellence and achieve it.

Craig Duswalt, speaker, author and creator of the RockStar System For Success, www.CraigDuswalt.com

Also by Paul Buyer

Marching Bands and Drumlines:

Secrets of Success from the Best of the Best

Meredith Music Publications

www.paulbuyer.com

WORKING TOWARD EXCELLENCE

8 Values for Achieving Uncommon Success in Work and Life

PAUL BUYER

Working Toward Excellence

8 Values for Achieving Uncommon Success in Work and Life

2012 Paul Buyer. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from author or publisher (except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages and/or show brief video clips in a review).

Disclaimer: The Publisher and the Author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the Publisher nor the Author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the Author or the Publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

ISBN 9781614481768 paperback

ISBN 9781614481775 eBook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011943962

Morgan James Publishing

The Entrepreneurial Publisher

5 Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor, New York City, New York 10001

(212) 655-5470 office (516) 908-4496 fax

www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T his book is a culmination of a relentless pursuit of excellence in my work and life, and my sincere and genuine desire to share these lessons with others. For those who know me well, I hope I have made you proud in this pursuit, for without your love, support, and encouragement, this book would not have been written.

First, I want to thank my wife April for inspiring me every day. Her giving heart and uncommon effort for making a difference in the lives of others is truly remarkable. I am a better person because of her and look forward to many more years of working toward excellence together.

I want to thank my mother Andrea, father Richard, brother Jason, sister Kennedy, grandmother Rose, and stepfather Ken for their constant love and support, as well as my stepmother Kris for allowing me to tell her story of perseverance.

I am forever grateful and indebted to my teachers and mentors Gary Cook, Erwin Mueller, and Michael Balter for showing me what I am capable of and instilling in me the eight values discussed in this book.

Thank you to my friend Mike Sammons for our many philosophical conversations about excellence and mediocrity, and to my friends Tony Stapleton and Larry Sloan for their support and encouragement on and off the golf course.

I would like to thank my students, past and present, for making me a better teacher and allowing me to help them work toward excellence and reach their potential. They are truly the inspiration for this book.

To my colleagues at Clemson University: Rick Goodstein, David Hartmann, Mickey Harder, Linda Li-Bleuel, Mark Spede, Justin Durham, Bruce Whisler, Tim Hurlburt, Mark Hosler, Dan Rash, Andrew Levin, and Linda Dzuris. Your collective dedication to excellence has successfully created a culture of collaboration and growth in our department.

I would like to recognize and thank my editor Amanda Rooker of Amanda Rooker Editing and the team at Morgan James for their outstanding work on this book: David Hancock, Founder of Morgan James Publishing; Rick Frishman, Publisher; Cindy Sauer, Director of Administration; Dave Sauer, Senior Author Liason; Jim Howard, Publishing Director; Bethany Marshall, Marketing Manager; Lyza Poulin, Author Relations Manager; Jaye Pratt, Interior Design Consultant; Margo Toulouse, Author Relations Manager; and Kim Spano, Author Relations Manager.