Excellence is a term that is often used in academia. While we all probably have some idea of what this term means, it tends to remain superficial and generic. We therefore contend that to really understand and appreciate people, excellence should always be viewed in context. Without this, you often don’t see the complete picture, which can hinder appropriate judgement of someone’s performance. As a result, talents may go unrecognized or underappreciated. Failures, for instance, are rarely di ...