Good Enough

How did we get so good at doing just enough work to get by? I see this form of self-sabotage all the time and often notice it in myself. We aren't pushing forward as hard as we can. We aren't changing things to make them better. We aren't holding other people accountable when they refuse to do the best work possible. Mediocrity is becoming the norm in every industry.

"Good enough" needs to be eliminated from our lexicon. This doesn't mean we have to strive for perfection in everything we do, but we should constantly search to improve what we offer. "Good enough" eliminates the need for new ideas and new ways to offer services. As we have embraced this idea of things being "good enough", we have seen the quality services and products offered decline. The exceptions to this are the outliers, the companies and people who realize "good enough" really isn't.

Making changes, pushing the envelope, striving for greatness...these are the ideas pushing innovation and allowing some people and companies to stand above the rest. When you receive exceptional service or find a breathtaking product, "good enough" never entered the minds of those offering the service or designing and building the product. They realized consumers will pay for the exceptional. In fact, even if we don't know it, we crave the exceptional. In the days of big box stores and large quantities of cheap crap proliferating homes, this may be hard to believe, but we do crave the exceptional.

Striving for the exceptional does not mean you have wait to offer your services or products until you know you have something exceptional. Stick you neck out there and see what happens. Learn from others. Figure out what works and what doesn't. If something doesn't work, change it. If something does work, see if there are ways to make it work better. Don't dwell on mistakes or causes of problems, learn quickly, think on your feet and improve things. You are never going to be perfect, but I am sure you can offer something better than what is out there now.

Do you really want to be known as "good enough"?