You’re delighted with the outcome. You express your compliments with the way things worked out.
It’s great whenever we give or get one of these. BUT…
This hand gesture implies perfection. Has true perfection really occurred? Likely not. Absolute perfection is rarely attainable.
Flashing that signal means “it” was really good. The outcome was successful in that it met or exceeded expectations enough to trigger induce this visual expression of a job well done.
Since the pursuit of perfection is typically unattainable, how much time is wasted pursuing perfection at the price of progress.
In the interest of progress, shouldn’t the perception of really good be the goal?
We can all have some perfectionist tendencies. Some of us naturally tend to be more persnickety than others. If you’re part of the persnickety population, I have some proven advise for you to get out of your own way. If you know someone who is a tireless pursuer of perfection, consider sharing this.
Is this perfect advice? Please stop asking that. I said proven. That needs to be good enough here.
Let’s agree that different jobs, tasks or projects have different exceptions for quality of work. We can also agree that all of these include expectations that progress will be made.
To pursue progress while still meeting and/or exceeding expectations for quality, here’s an important question to ask yourself.
Asking and answering this question with yourself and your stakeholders serves to clarify your finish line. Without finish line clarity, how do you know when you’ve achieved the necessary progress to gain that coveted hand gesture.
I offer another perspective by asking:
Is it OK to be detail agnostic? It depends!
After publishing this post, I’ve learned that the image I’ve used (the OK sign) has been adopted by supremacist groups. Apparently it was the upside-down version of the gesture that recently got a spectator at a Cub’s game banned for life when he flashed it behind Curtis Granderson’s televised sideline report. Here’s a link to the Chicago Tribune story about using the OK sign.
I choose not to remove the image from this post. I am not willing to allow an ignorant minority to hijack my communication. But hereby state that it is not and never was my intention to promote any supremacist cause.
I wasn’t even promoting perfectionism.
Since I’ve brought up political correctness, allow me to re-share my post on Handshakes, Hugs, Kisses and #MeToo Greeting Guidelines
Tom Lemanski serves as an executive coach and trusted advisor to successful Chicago area executives who are driven to be more successful. Tom has developed leaders in over 60 different industries of the the past 20 years.
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