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Coaching for Creativity in the Workplace
There was a CEO of a large company who had an interesting object
on his desk. Over the course of many years the object had been
the topic of numerous conversations by most employees and
visitors who found themselves in his office. When I heard...
How To Realistically Set Your Fees - Part 1
We all know there are 52 weeks in a year and 40 working hours in a week. Therefore, we can bill 2080 hours per year, right. Wrong. Too often this is the trap that many new service businesses fall into.
The first step in calculating your...
Primal Leadership - A Book Summary
This article is based on the following book: Primal Leadership “Leading To Lead With Emotional Intelligence” By Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, Annie Mckee Published by Harvard Business School Press 2004 ISBN 1591391849 306 pages Primal...
Sales Force of the Future -- "It's Not About Selling"
Copyright 2005 Rick Johnson
Jeff Gitomer coined the phrase at a recent convention: "It's not about what you are selling, it's about what the customer is buying."
In reality, the customer is not buying your product, he is buying fulfillment...
The Top Mistakes Executives Make in Leading Their Organizations
THE TOP MISTAKES TODAY’S EXECUTIVES MAKE IN LEADING THEIR ORGANIZATIONS Four Tips on Common Leadership Pitfalls to Avoid In today’s uncertain economy, many organizations have been making some drastic changes to stay competitive and productive....
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Perfection vs. Excellence (Business, Career, Life Coaching Series)
"(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.
About the Author
Ruth Zanes has been a Business, Career and Personal Success Coach since 1985. Her broad range of experience prior to coaching includes consultant, business ownership and corporate executive for some of the world’s largest corporations. Contact Ruth at: http://www.unlimitedresourcesinc.com
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