Have you ever found yourself working on a project or developing some idea and you want to make it perfect? I know there’s been a few times where I find myself obsessing over various details, attempting to reach that lofty pinnacle of perfection. While it’s understood that perfection can be very difficult if not almost impossible to achieve, one factor that we consider less is how it can also be a disadvantage.

Bet I piqued your curiosity with that unusual statement. Allow me now to explain what I mean by it.

Let’s say I was developing a new product line and naturally, I want to create the perfect version of it. So I ask ten people at random what would make this product perfect in their eyes. Invariably, this leads to me getting ten different versions of what I need to do to make this product perfect – not exactly a cost-effective approach. But let’s say I go back to these ten people and ask them instead ‘Based on what the product does right now, what would you say would make it even better?’. In asking this question, I’m sure to get one or two similar answers which if I were to implement as changes to my product, the others who hadn’t suggested it would nonetheless agree were changes that definitely improved my product.

To understand what exactly is going on here, let’s look at another version of this question. Click here to continue reading »”Why Better Will Always Beat Perfection”

During a dinner party at my parents’ house, my daughter decided to get a water jug and serve everyone at the table a glass of water.  Watching her make her way around the table, I couldn’t help being touched and proud of her thoughtful gesture towards everyone.  I wanted to give her a hug and a kiss to show her how I felt and so, I asked her to come see me when she was done.  At this point, something surprising happened – as soon as I told her to come see me, a big beautiful smile graced her face.

After the briefest moment, it dawned on me why she was smiling after hearing that I wanted to see her – she knew exactly what I was going to do and why.  When she came to my place at the table and got her hug and kiss, along with a whispered comment about how proud I was of her, she went back to her chair, wearing an even bigger shining smile.

Thinking about this moment, I realized that my daughter’s smile was as much a reaction to my gestures and comment as it was a result of her feeling proud that she was right about what she had expected I was going to do.

What’s of particular interest is that Click here to continue reading »”Living Up To Our Own Expectations”