Strive for continual improvement, instead of perfection
Manik Sood
Continuous Improvement Leader @ Springer Nature | Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
It is an old saying "Failure is the stepping stones to success". In the same way, learning from mistakes is the most important step towards improvement.
The same can be elaborated with the help of a story.
One day the arts teacher announced that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those in group-1 will be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those group-2 on its quality.
His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scale and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pounds of pots rated an “A,” forty pounds a “B,” and so on. Those being graded on “quality,” however, needed to produce only one pot—a perfect one—to get an “A.”
Well, come grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. 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, and in the end had little to show for their efforts.
It does not matter whether your objectives are in the area of art, business, ministry, sports, or relationships. The only way you can get ahead is to learn from your mistakes and never repeat them.
Software Architect. I help your software teams deliver business results.
8 年“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” - Vince Lombardi
Subject Matter Expert, Best Read Author and Hands On Practitioner for Business/Manufacturing Process, Lean, CI, Six Sigma, Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, High Tech
8 年Bob, better words have never been spoken. Learn something new everyday. Learn from failure. I have been challenged all my professional life by business owners and superiors that always want more for less. Without continuous improvement and always asking WHY and HOW CAN WE DO IT BETTER, I would have never achieved half of the gains that the teams that I have led have. LEARN, DEPLOY, SUCCEED, FAIL, REPEAT.
Widower and Owner at Focus and Leverage Consulting
8 年I agree with what you've written here. I call it being a satisficer rather than an optimizer. Bob
Adjunct Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
9 年Learn, learn and Learn till you die. Don't bother for failure. Knowledge is power!
VP/Practice Director-Business/Technology/TLS Transformation Consulting at ACOREII: A Consortium Of Reengineering Experts
9 年Hi Manik, Yes, the notion of failing fast and failing often - in the context of pursuing continuous improvement/operational excellence - carries a great deal of merit. That said, that notion should NOT imply or infer that the pursuit of "perfection" of what currently exists is of any less value. In fact, when it comes to what is achieved in name of making progress, it's often less than perfect on the first go-round. As a result, it makes a great deal of sense to revisit the improved state operations/conditions and look for ways to make them better; particularly if it can be achieved at little to not additional cost and the potential returns justify the effort. Ergo, the best bottom-line approach to continuous improvement/operational excellence is a combination of both approaches... the pursuit of progress (aka effectiveness), followed by the pursuit of perfection (aka efficiency) in a never-ending cycle.