Perfection Is Bad For Business

Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse

5448851027_fa53139280_bWho doesn’t want to be perfect? Some people want to achieve perfection so badly that they actually do more harm than good to themselves and others around them.

Failures are actually brilliant opportunities to learn. It is often easier to diagnose what went wrong after a failure than to figure out the key elements that lead to a success. By avoiding failure, then, we are removing an important tool from our mental toolbox.

Most of us go about our lives with a nagging thought. “I should this or I should that?” Notice your ‘shoulds’ and make a conscious choice about whether it is really something you want to do or just a residual, societal ‘should’ that you are holding on to.

As a culture, we tend to reward perfectionists for their insistence on setting high standards and relentless drive to meet those standards. And perfectionists frequently are high achievers, but the price they pay for success can be chronic unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

The great irony of perfectionism is that while it’s characterized by an intense drive to succeed, it can be the very thing that prevents success.

Perfection is impossible. It’s a sad fact that people strive to create lives where we face no disappointment, rejection or failure.  This is an idealistic and impractical strategy for business success. As an entrepreneur it is good to strive for excellence as a competitive advantage but be careful that you do not fall victim to your own unrealistic goals. You did not enter into the business world with dreams of being stressed for the remainder of your career.

Perfect is the enemy of good – Voltaire

 

 

Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply