Is Good Ever Too Good?

We are taught to always do our best, exceed expectations, and persevere until we finish, right? However, can these practices work against you? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. The reality is that spending excessive time on tasks that aren’t priorities, striving so hard for perfection that nothing ever gets completed, and offering premium solutions for situations that only require standard ones can come at a high price. In essence, too good can be no good.

Striving for perfection is wasteful if excellence is good enough.

Can the Pursuit of Excellence Be Counterproductive?

Here are 15 cases where the pursuit of excellence can be counterproductive:

Working longer hours may make you look good, but it doesn’t guarantee better results.
Spending considerable time to save a little money may come at your expense.
Charging more to repair a product than it’s worth is ludicrous.
Trying to be good at everything may make you mediocre at everything.
Bringing five people to a meeting, when only three are required, is unnecessary.
Pleasing everyone, by distributing resources evenly, implies a reluctance to make tough choices.
Writing a book when you can express it in a paragraph is overkill. Enough said.
Completing every task on your to-do list is inefficient; instead, focus on what matters most.
Tracking every second may seem productive, but you might miss precious moments.
Providing a top-of-the-line solution is unnecessary when a middle-of-the-road option is sufficient.
Creating a complex solution for a problem easily addressed with a simple approach is excessive.
Engaging in long, unproductive meetings that could be handled efficiently through a quick chat is wasteful.
Pursuing perfection is unnecessary if excellence is good enough.
Focusing on trivial details that have minimal impact on the outcome is foolish.
Overthinking a minor decision by analyzing every minute detail is pointless.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Before you use a sledgehammer to crack a walnut or invest your effort in a lost cause — like watering a dead plant — ask yourself whether you’re going beyond what the situation merits.

In reality, the best isn’t always superior, the latest isn’t always the greatest, working harder doesn’t mean you’re working smarter, complexity doesn’t always translate to better outcomes, and more isn’t always better. The key is to evaluate what’s required and beneficial for the situation rather than going all out and giving it everything you’ve got. The fact is that no two instances are alike, and each must be treated accordingly. View every situation with a fresh outlook and tailor your approach, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all solution may not be suitable. As Professor Clayton M. Christensen said, “The hot water that softens a carrot will harden an egg.”

Check out Frank’s new book, BECOME: Unleash the Power of Moral Character and Be Proud of the Life You Choose