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. Qualities of a Great Manager
In the call center environment we are often only as successful as the people we hire. While our front line employees are critical to our business, choosing the right managers powerfully impact your success. So what makes a good manager? Ask 100 people and you might get 100 different answers. While the behaviors that make a great manager may be open to interpretation, there are some competencies and corresponding questions, which stand the test of time. I think the face of business has entered a…

2. Money, Motivation, Success and Who? By Barry Maher
It was 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I was setting up to do the opening keynote for the conference. For some reason--I have no idea why--the sound man thought his ten year old daughter would enjoy my presentation. He'd brought her with him to work.Watching her father wiring this and plugging in that, the girl was soon as bored as only a ten year old can be. Eventually, she sauntered over to me."So who are you?" she demanded."I’m Barry Maher."Overwhelmingly unimpressed, she asked, "And w…

3. Poor Employee Performance: How to Deal By Andrew E. Schwartz
KEEP WRITTEN RECORDS: “Document !Document! Document!” Keep a record of periodic performance reviews, incidents of unsatisfactory performance, conferences where warnings are administered or terminations are announced. Issue warnings and terminations in writing as well as verbally. When dealing with a particularly unstable or vindictive employee, request that the employee sign a written summary of a warning or termination conference to attest to the fact that the summary is accurate (not that th…

4. Management Coaching: Inside the Eight Steps By Chris Stowell
We are sometimes asked why our coaching model at the Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness has eight steps. “Why so many?” some wonder.Given the pace at which most people live and work these days, we can certainly understand the question. Here is a general answer, based on the research of our founders.The general answer:Our research identified 47 qualities that distinguished great coaches from their opposites. To make the findings usable and practical, we chose the key themes th…