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Pursue excellence but don’t seek perfection.
There is a version of well known saying that ‘A job worth doing is worth doing well’ that says ‘A job worth doing is worth doing badly’ meaning that it is better to achieve something than nothing, even if end result is not perfect.
There is some truth in that, but in reality anything other than your best effort is just not good enough. You owe it to yourself and to others to always give of your best . It would be better to say ‘A job worth doing is worth doing well, even if result is less than perfect’. Some sort of flawed solution is often better than none at all. If we always insisted on perfection we would start very little and complete even less.
So, do your best always. Aim to produce best you can, but don’t agonise over those areas where you fall short. Learn from them, improve in future, but at time just note them and move on.
Be objective.
This relates back to previous point about seeking perfection. Be realistic about what can be done. Be realistic about your own and your team’s capabilities. Don’t promise to do what you know cannot be done. But be enthusiastic too. Approach challenges with an infectious enthusiasm. Be prepared to learn new skills. Encourage your team to do same. If you set about tackling challenges with determination and enthusiasm you will achieve more than you ever knew you could.
Don’t dwell on past.
Don’t spend your time reliving past successes or agonising over past failures. Live in here and now and take things as they are in present. You should learn from past, but you cannot change it. Look to present and to future.
Work smarter, not longer.
Don’t kill yourself with excessively long hours. Don’t inflict them on your team either. Look for better ways to do things. Look for new methods, better equipment, more sensible aims. Both you and your team will work better if you are fresh instead of tired. Enlist help of your team for suggestions. Harness their enthusiasm and resourcefulness. In end you will all produce better work if you are rested and keen than if you are worn out and depressed.
So if you are in that rut, lift yourself out, decide on a new start, and inspire yourself and your team to new heights of achievement.
Arthur Cooper is a writer and publisher. For more of his articles go to: http://www.arthurcooper.com/ For articles ebooks and courses go to: http://www.barrel-publishing.com/