Weekend/Comment & Analysis:
James Yoakum sounds off on the theme of “Why can’t good enough, be good enough?”
Viewpoint by James Yoakum, WCW Columnist
Author’s Note: This article was designed to provoke thought internally, in your inner self, as a human being as well as to push you to re-examine ‘our’ role externally as a communal society.
Questions:
Is our nation suffering from analysis paralysis?
Have we lost our creativeness, our inventiveness?
Do we strive too much for perfection?
Are we wasting valuable resources?
Are we on information overload?
Do we make life and life’s decisions too complex?
Does the fear of failure stand in the face of success?
I am not going to spoon feed you the answers although I do hold distinctive opinions on the aforementioned subjects. Instead, I raise these questions are to provoke and perhaps incite you to examine where we as a society are, and where we need to go.
I challenge myself, I challenge you.
Think. IBM
Good Enough.
As a society and as individuals, we have rightly set the bar high. We strive for perfection. We want to be the best.
But is the best always best?
Can the goal of perfection derail getting the job done?
It can be hard to accept imperfections. We all want to shine, and often feel that we won’t be recognized unless our work is absolutely flawless
Though in many cases imperfections are OK. Good enough, should be good enough!
What do I mean by good enough?
If the work product is good enough, that is, it is sufficient to get the job done, to accomplish the task, to meet the goal or objective, then why continue to put out resources to make it perfect, to make it best?
“At one point, he decided enough was enough.”, Steven Wright
Wasted Resources
Some might contend that it is a waste of resources. Is it?
Not only is it a waste of resources, it can be exasperating to many.
How many of us have a boss who thought the memo you wrote wasn’t perfect, and thus consquently, wanted it re-written? Your version would have got the job done. However, “the boss” spends the time to change it to make it better, make it perfect.
“I’m afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all its meaning”, Andy Warhol
Analysis Paralysis
Analysis paralysis describes the situation where the opportunity cost of the decision analysis exceeds the benefit that could be gained by making some decision.
Often over analyzing results in decisions never being made. We just analyze and analyze. What happens? We are paralyzed. Creativity is stifled. Moral slips, slips, slips. Procrastination takes over.
Just Do It!, Nike
Information Overload
Technology was supposed to be a solution.
It was supposed to make life easier, easier to get things done. Instead today an overload of physical mail, email, internet websites, voicemails, telephone and cell phone calls, memos, faxes, hundreds of television stations, 24-hour news stations and other interpersonal communication can make it difficult or impossible for decisions to be made.
We are a society of information overload. Too much information which must be processed in order for a decision to be made.
“Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.”, Ray Bradbury
Perfection?
Good enough should be good enough!
Do you strive for perfection?
Do you spend hours obsessing over the tiniest details of your life until they’re exactly right? Do you feel uncomfortable when everything in your life isn’t “just so”? Are you prepared for every eventuality, even the most unlikely?
Getting to good enough isn’t about settling or being less than perfect. It’s about succeeding, about getting the job done efficiently, with less cost, quicker turnarounds.
“You spend a life time, and, if you’re honest with yourself, never once was your work perfect.”, Charlton Heston
Keep it Simple
It often is staring us in the face. But we keep analyzing, evaluating, considering. We make it more complex than it is. Most solutions are simple. Simple to discover, simple to see. It’s our own inner thoughts that tell us to never risk imperfection, to never fail. And it’s our own inner thoughts that make it so complex.
Simplify your life. Simplify your decision making process.
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”, Albert Einstein
Be better. Be less than perfect.
Give yourself permission to be less than perfect! Give yourself permission to fail!
It greases creativity, innovation and provides the path for you to succeed.
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”. Robert F. Kennedy
Takes risks! (Albeit, manageable, mitigated risks.)
Outcome is never certain. No amount of analysis and information can make it certain.
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”, T.S. Eliot
Take Action
Take action now! Don’t over analyze. Start the change now. Solve the problem!
“Don’t’ fight the problem, decide it.”, General George C. Marshall
