Recently I commented on a plan submitted to me for information and feedback. It addressed the criteria it sought to address very adequately and the intent behind it seemed very good. I correspondingly gave the required feedback: ‘Good plan and good work by those behind it.’
Then I got a call from someone in a subordinate position to me asking if I was ‘really happy with it.’ I said it addressed the criteria very adequately in my view, and I asked this person if they felt there was anything specific that wasn’t addressed. I couldn’t get a clear answer to convince me to the contrary so I retained my original view.
Then I came across the following quote from a James Adonis free e-book:
“Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power.” –Shirley MacLaine.
It seems to me that to succeed in this busy world of ours we need to pick our battles well; we must aim for retain our agility. Staying positive and building relationships and moving forward are ways to succeed.
Sure, there may’ve been opportunities for the plan I reviewed to be improved, but to extract another five (5) percent, would it have been worth the effort. We daren’t ‘make the perfect the enemy of the good.’ –Morton C. Blackwell.
Some people always see ‘the work to be done’ instead of the work already done and the progress made. When we dwell on the negative we can become enslaved to it.
Then there are the irresponsible souls who’ll deflect mud onto those who actually need to do the work i.e. they identify work that they themselves won’t do, but insist that others do it.
To have any sense of a chance of succeeding we must break free of negativity. We must learn to challenge it; respectfully, of course.
I was having a conversation with my manager-once-removed recently and he proffered the following:
[The future] “might be analogous to an obstacle course where all of the challenges will be individual obstacles.
“Some of the obstacles are known, some are potential and others we haven’t even contemplated. Even the known ones will have some uncertainty in terms of nature, magnitude, location and endurance.
“So if our plan is to run in a straight line as fast as possible and suddenly one of the obstacles is lower than we thought and another appears where we didn’t expect it--then life is going to be pretty painful.
“Agility for me was about making a decision (strategy and plan) based on a clear, current understanding of the endpoint and the challenges likely to be encountered along the way, but being prepared to flex, change direction, speed up/slow down, absorb a few hits etc as we move forward.
“In the absence of such an approach it is possible that we will still get to the endpoint but it will be a lot harder for all concerned. Agility picks up flexibility, responsiveness and capability.
“I was also thinking of an obstacle course in which all of the obstacles are constantly moving--if one was to choose a flexible form such as an octopus or jellyfish then the path through would seem easier than say for a crab. The crab may eventually also get through but possibly minus a claw, with a few broken ribs and exhausted (was it really worth doing?). It’s important that the journey or experience is ‘enjoyable’ and that in addition to achieving objectives we also achieve self preservation and preferably self enhancement.”
The future is a scary place for many people. One way we can make the journey to the future more palatable is to stay positive and agile, working with the flow of things rather than against them.
Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good.
Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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