WHEN “GOOD ENOUGH” REALLY IS GOOD ENOUGH
written by Terry - October 25th, 2011 at 9:36 am
“The perfect is the enemy of the good.” Voltaire
Wouldn’t it wonderful if every patient arrived on time, every procedure went exactly according to plan, and each member of the team carried out their tasks in coordinated choreography with every other team member?
It’s a lovely goal, but there are just too many variables at play for it to become a reality very often. Instead, a few patients are bound to cancel at the last minute, some procedures will hit a time-consuming snag, and the interactions of our fellow team members will look more like the roller derby than the Rockettes.
When things hit a snag, it can sap morale and make pessimists of the best of us. But is that realistic? Goal-setting and ambitious aspirations are wonderful. But sometimes we set the goal so high, and get so fixated on reaching it, that we fail to appreciate what we have accomplished.
Ironically, at its worst, “perfection” is a goal that can set us up for failure. When we repeatedly fall short of our goals despite a genuine and sustained effort to succeed, it may be a sign that we need to take a fresh look at those goals. If we cling rigidly to benchmarks that are unattainable, we run the risk of undermining the very confidence and excellence that we’re pursuing.
How might the morale in your office change if, instead of perfection, you strove for perspective?
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