OK, so we all want to be perfect, it would be awfully nice not to EVER make mistakes, but let’s get right down to it, how perfect do you need to be? My belief is that some people have a higher need to be perfect than others, and some jobs have a higher need to be perfect than others, so let’s match them up.
Some things need to be pretty close to perfect. We want perfection in a brain surgeon or air traffic controller, we want electricity to be on 100% of the time, you get the idea. And some people get REALLY upset when they make a mistake and will practically kill themselves to be absolutely flawless, let them be brain surgeons and air traffic controllers and managers for the electric company.
Other projects are actually hampered by the need to be perfect. Jobs that require creativity and innovation come to mind. If you are doing something new, by definition there is uncertainty over how it will turn out, and if you limit your energies to those projects that are close to 100% guaranteed to succeed, you will find yourself…severely limited. Entrepreneurs, artists, inventors, designers, marketers belong to this category. For that matter, I belong here too. I would much rather create 10 new products, of which 7 are failures, 2 are pretty good and 1 is a runaway success, than roll out three tried and true products. That’s me, the brain surgeon would probably go nuts in this environment, and I would go nuts in theirs.
So, bottom line, know your preference, know the requirements for the job you are in so you can act accordingly, and lastly, respect those who disagree. Yeah, I like to take risks and I’m comfortable with failure, but I respect that the air traffic controller disagrees with me.
