Comments on: Leadership & Perfectionism http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/ Where CEOs Come to Grow & where Leadership Matters Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:46:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Action | Life with Lynn Witt http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-31013 Action | Life with Lynn Witt Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:34:40 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-31013 [...] also recently read the following blog by @mikemyatt called the need for speed. In it, he describes why action is more important than [...] [...] also recently read the following blog by @mikemyatt called the need for speed. In it, he describes why action is more important than [...]

]]> By: Ellen http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28812 Ellen Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:17:06 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28812 I think you could have made your point in a single statement "seek the highest standard of quality that can be delivered in the shortest period of time, and that is economically balanced relative to the constraints of an ever shifting marketplace". I think you could have made your point in a single statement "seek the highest standard of quality that can be delivered in the shortest period of time, and that is economically balanced relative to the constraints of an ever shifting marketplace".

]]> By: Joseph http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28771 Joseph Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:28:54 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28771 Alan Weiss, an independent consultant, use to say - we are here for success not for perfection. I tell that to myself a lot. Alan Weiss, an independent consultant, use to say – we are here for success not for perfection. I tell that to myself a lot.

]]> By: Bob Landham http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28335 Bob Landham Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:04:59 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28335 Very freeing truth Mike. 'Read The Myth of Excellence by Crawford and Matthews several years ago...you capture the best of a great truth aging boomers need to hear and pass along in the years we have left to influence anything at all. Vision is everything and perfectionism kills vision. Thanks Very freeing truth Mike. 'Read The Myth of Excellence by Crawford and Matthews several years ago…you capture the best of a great truth aging boomers need to hear and pass along in the years we have left to influence anything at all. Vision is everything and perfectionism kills vision. Thanks

]]> By: Kevin W. Grossman http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28334 Kevin W. Grossman Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:58:17 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28334 Right on. And you sure as heck won't be leading anyone for very long, much less a company of any size. Maybe a company of one, but I'm not sure how long you'll be in business...unless you're in the business of telling folks what not to be. Right on. And you sure as heck won't be leading anyone for very long, much less a company of any size. Maybe a company of one, but I'm not sure how long you'll be in business…unless you're in the business of telling folks what not to be.

]]> By: Wally Bock http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28329 Wally Bock Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:40:31 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28329 Congratulations! This post was selected as one of the five best independent business blog posts of the week in my Three Star Leadership Midweek Review of the Business Blogs. <a href="http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2010/09/08/9810-midweek-look-at-the-independent-business-blogs.aspx" target="_blank">http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2010/09/08/98...</a> Wally Bock Congratulations! This post was selected as one of the five best independent business blog posts of the week in my Three Star Leadership Midweek Review of the Business Blogs.
http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2010/09/08/98…

Wally Bock

]]> By: mikemyatt http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28328 mikemyatt Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:10:17 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28328 Hi Tanveer: The concept of seeking "better" over "perfect" resonates with me. That said, some of the same potential pitfalls exist when searching for improvement. What's the definition of improvement? Is improvement really needed? Is the improvement meaningful or just make-work? In general, I concur with your observations and always value your input. Thanks Tanveer. Hi Tanveer:

The concept of seeking "better" over "perfect" resonates with me. That said, some of the same potential pitfalls exist when searching for improvement. What's the definition of improvement? Is improvement really needed? Is the improvement meaningful or just make-work? In general, I concur with your observations and always value your input. Thanks Tanveer.

]]> By: mikemyatt http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28327 mikemyatt Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:04:30 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28327 Pigs become very angry when annoyed :). Great observations David. Thanks for sharing. Pigs become very angry when annoyed :) . Great observations David. Thanks for sharing.

]]> By: davidburkus http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28326 davidburkus Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:56:28 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28326 Agree and disagree. The pursuit of perfection by an individual leaders isn't a leadership trait, but something worth going for. Demanding perfection from followers is like trying to teach a pig to speak English: you'll frustrate yourself and annoy the pig. Agree and disagree. The pursuit of perfection by an individual leaders isn't a leadership trait, but something worth going for. Demanding perfection from followers is like trying to teach a pig to speak English: you'll frustrate yourself and annoy the pig.

]]> By: Tanveer Naseer http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-need-for-speed/comment-page-1/#comment-28325 Tanveer Naseer Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:23:12 +0000 http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=89#comment-28325 Mike, I'd like to share a quote from author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry which I shared in a piece I wrote about why we should focus on achieving "better" over perfection: "Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away." As you wrote at the beginning of this piece, one of the main pitfalls with seeking perfection is that its definition is subjective and based on our own experience. As I wrote in my piece on this, a good way to note this distinction is to ask 10 people what would constitute the perfect day. Of course, what you'd get is 10 different answers, and yet each of the answers are the right one for the person whose defining it. That's why leaders need to recognize that seeking perfection is an exercise in futility as it's a goal that only they can relate to, if not hard to quantify. It's also important to recognize that it's most likely driven by our sense of fear of not knowing whether our efforts will succeed or not, rather than out of a drive to ensure we deliver the best possible effort. Mike, I'd like to share a quote from author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry which I shared in a piece I wrote about why we should focus on achieving "better" over perfection:

"Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away."

As you wrote at the beginning of this piece, one of the main pitfalls with seeking perfection is that its definition is subjective and based on our own experience. As I wrote in my piece on this, a good way to note this distinction is to ask 10 people what would constitute the perfect day. Of course, what you'd get is 10 different answers, and yet each of the answers are the right one for the person whose defining it.

That's why leaders need to recognize that seeking perfection is an exercise in futility as it's a goal that only they can relate to, if not hard to quantify. It's also important to recognize that it's most likely driven by our sense of fear of not knowing whether our efforts will succeed or not, rather than out of a drive to ensure we deliver the best possible effort.

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