Good enough is good enough

Since November I’m now a father of two, and for me being a parent is a pendulum between trying to do it 100% right at one end then at the other getting tired and frustrated at the unrelenting inexorable workload that seems like it will never end.

I was discussing this with someone who gave me a great lesson in the old principle that you teach best what you need to know yourself.  He simply said “what’s wrong with good enough“?

A light bulb went on.  Not of the ‘I’ve had a great idea’ variety, but the illumination that says ‘wake up you idiot.’

Because…I help managers every day with how to get their people to do what is needed, and a crucial part is to be clear on the Quality of what is required.  If we’ve spoken about work, I’ve probably said to you “have you let them know what good enough looks like?”  It’s not enough to just let your people know what you want, they need to know what good enough looks like.

It might not have to be very good at all.  I once asked for one of my team to ‘read this article tonight and come prepared tomorrow’.  You can imagine I felt like manager of the year when she arrived the next morning with an excellent 10 page summary she had sweated over into the evening when what I actually wanted was to simply get her thoughts as to whether it might be useful to us.

It would have taken me five seconds to say ‘prepared enough to talk about whether it might be useful to us, no need for anything more than a few notes in the margins‘.  The Quality.

This is what I need to remember as a parent.  There’s no need to produce the excellent 10 page report.  My boys just need me to be there.  To be good enough.

Make sure you let your people know what good enough looks like when you give them work, or you might find them swinging between attempting perfection and frustration.

Both ends are painful.  Especially when good enough is always good enough.