Is Good the Enemy of Great? Or The Reverse?

“Good Is the Enemy of Great”

That quote is the first sentence of the opening paragraph of the business best seller, Good To Great by Jim Collins. Mr. Collins goes on to explain how the complacency mindset that comes from with being very good is an obstacle to pursuing greatness. The noble concept of pursuing greatness has inspired leaders, followers and book sales. Does that mean we should pursue greatness in every thing we do?

Can GREAT Be The Enemy of GOOD?

We can agree that the biggest obstacle to becoming great is the natural tendency to settle for being “good enough”. The Good To Great companies in the book succeeded by being better than their competition. However their greatness was selective. >> more on the Strategic Pursuit of Greatness >>

Pursuing greatness in every aspect of every activity is guaranteed to set you up for failure and/or burnout. To avoid that potential for failure, you need a clear idea of when to Leave Well Enough Alone.

3 Times to “Leave Well Enough Alone”

When you recognize these pointless pursuits of perfection, it’s a signal to stop:

• Are you trying to be great with all things to all people?
• Are you trying to be great at all things to some people?
• Are you proceeding without specific, measurable goals that clearly provide a compass for your pursuit of greatness?

If you do have a compass for greatness, you should then approach each activity or opportunity by asking…

• Is this activity critical to my pursuit of my goals for greatness
• If not, what is par or this task or activity?
• What do I need to do to avoid doing sub-par work?

If your activity doesn’t qualify as Great Mission Critical and your work is at-par, it’s time leave well enough alone.

To apply that thought, it’s time for me to end this briefing.

Related Articles and References

• For strategic thinking purposes, I recommend the book: The Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the Best at Everything
• My Original Article: Good is the Enemy of Great
• Strategic Pursuit of Greatness – Step 1
• From Good To Great To Gone
• The Successor to Good To Great: Conscious Capitalism