Perfection vs. Excellence (Business, Career, Life Coaching
Series)
"(Howard) Hughes never learned how to convert his knowledge to
practical application. Instead he sought a perfection that
assured failure." - From Empire: The Life, Legend and Madness of
Howard Hughes by Donald L. Bartlett & James B. Steel
How many times have you heard someone (it may have been you)
proclaim or complain that he/she is a perfectionist? You may
have noticed that going for perfection is a fool's game. You
simply cannot win when you set perfection as your standard.
There may be rare and unusual situations where perfection is
assumed to be an appropriate standard. Frankly, I can't think of
one - no, not even life and death situations such as heart
surgery demand perfection in the process. Each stitch does not
have to be sewn perfectly in order to affect the outcome.
Perfection is present in the ultimate result, as evident in the
patient's survival or death, not in the process.
When "perfection" is the goal it is usually out of an
exaggerated desire to be right, to avoid criticism or risk. The
focus is on "how am I doing?" rather than on producing a
specific outcome. Excellence, on the other hand, is a way of
life. It is the context in which high achievers and peak
performers produce and contribute to the quality of life. High
achievers and peak performers get things done by taking action
looking for appropriate outcomes and measuring their success
based on the quantity and quality of their results.
The bad news is that being a human being means we have the
abilities and the failings of human beings. We make mistakes. We
get tired. We get distracted. We fail to communicate clearly and
accurately. When we set perfection as our goal, all of our
actions are based on attempts to conquer our natural human
limits with little or no intention on the ultimate outcome. The
search for perfection limits our ability to act meaningfully.
Acting in accordance with standards of excellence allows us to
produce superb results and opens the door to experimentation and
creativity.