I can go both ways. There are countless times when I settle with good enough and other times where I use excellence as a way to delay completing a project.
What say you?
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Tension Between Good Enough and Excellence
I've heard arguments both ways. This guy argues for good enough, believing focusing too much on excellence is fear's way of stalling the project. This guy, on the other hand, takes a different perspective, believing focusing on excellence is what makes the work great, and that if we settle for good enough, we're setting the bar too low on our work.
I can go both ways. There are countless times when I settle with good enough and other times where I use excellence as a way to delay completing a project.
What say you?
I can go both ways. There are countless times when I settle with good enough and other times where I use excellence as a way to delay completing a project.
What say you?
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This is something I tend to think on a lot. For me I think the balance is pursuing excellence and being willing to accept good enough. This seems to set the bar high, while also keeping things moving and meeting timelines (even an artificial one). I think the key is accepting good enough, which conveys a positive attitude about the results even if it's not excellence - where as settling seems to convey a negative, disappointment in what it could have been instead of what it is.
ReplyDeleteOften too I think the focus is on excellent or good enough (which is more of a quality determiner) rather than a focus on the goal or results (an outcome determiner). An excellent product, program, decision etc that is incomplete, late, etc often will not meet the goals as much as a good enough complete, on-time, etc product, program, or decision will.
Lastly, I'd say the balance of excellence and good enough is most often found when the pursuit of excellence leads to a recognition that 'it' will never be excellent with God's help and yet He desires a partnership where you put in what you have (good enough) and joyfully accept the quality of what He allows.
Good words Peter! Thank you for the comment!
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