Quantity + Learning Trumps Quality Alone
Earlier I used to think that Quality trumps quantity, but I was wrong. It’s just the reverse provided you learn from the mistakes made. I have plenty of cases to support this argument. For now, I’m sharing with you the story that has inspired me a lot to think this way.
On the first day of his class, the ceramics teacher announced he was dividing his class into two groups. All those on the left side of the class would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right graded solely on its quality.
His procedure was simple: on the final day of class, he would weight the work of the “quantity†group: 50 pounds of pots rated an A, 40 pounds a B, and so on. Those being graded on “qualityâ€, however, needed to produce only one pot-albeit a perfect one- to get an “Aâ€.
Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity!
Lesson Learned:
It seems that while the “quantity†group was busily churning out piles of work and learning from their mistakes- the “quality†group had sat theorizing about perfection. The quantity group was engaged in active practice, the quality one was in passive learning.
Seems like, I need to try this approach in writing as well. This blog post would have never been posted had I thought of giving it more time to make it perfect.
It’s easy to be bogged down trying to find the perfect thing to do. We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action.
Instead of that, change your approach and focus on doing, testing, fixing, and learning. With time and consideration, the quality will come.