Perfection vs. Excellence (Business, Career, Life Coaching Series)



Learn Management Articles on management-info.biz. Perfection vs. Excellence (Business, Career, Life Coaching Series) article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

'(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.



Royalty Free Coaching Products. - Keep 100% of the profits by selling your own royalty free coaching products!
Organizing Your Youth Soccer Team. - Youth soccer coaching book of over 100 drills, and exercises for beginning and experienced youth soccer coaches.


Article Index: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81



More Articles:


1. Book Summary: Mind Your Own Business By Regine P. Azurin
A maverick is an independent person who will not go along with the other members of a group (Oxford ESL Dictionary). This book provides priceless stories and insights from a maverick of the business world; an exemplary business leader who prefers not to follow orthodox beliefs in business, nor be eaten by the hyped up ideas of the present. Instead, he chooses the course of action that is appropriate for the changing times.The Maverick’s Way: New Old ThingWhat is effective? This is the question…

2. Don't Throw Money Away On Training - Planning Well Will Cut Costs and Increase Value
We've all done it. The glossy brochure with catchy headlines promoting training courses which seem too good to miss. We either see them ourselves or employees bring them to us with a previously unknown 'need' to have this training. Before we know it a large chunk of the annual training budget has gone on courses we didn't even know existed. This sort of reactive approach to training and development costs far more than systematic training and is usually far less effective. So, how do we do this …

3. Learning Management Systems
All of us should be familiar with what's happening with learning management systems (LMS). As organizations move away from a training mindset to a learning and performance culture, LMS will play a central role. The organization's LMS should be more than a training documentation system. In a recent article by LMS-guru Elliott Masie, Elliott listed the following expectations for a fully implement LMS: * a 'dashboard' for managers that highlights what their teams and individuals are learning * an i…

4. In Leadership, Good Enough Is Pretty Bad
PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.comWord count: 331Summary: Having a 'good enough' attitude is a serious stumbling block for leaders. Such an attitude allows them to avoid the hard work of finding better ways to acco…