Is good enough enough?

[duncan drennan]

I think we have to constantly remind ourselves that we have to choose — good or great, those are the options. Or in the words of Seth Godin, good enough or remarkable.

Good enough is beyond reproach. It's safe at the same time it represents quality. Good enough demonstrates effort and insight and ability. People rarely get fired for good enough, which is a shame.

If you redefined the objective to be, "makes some people uncomfortable, changes the entire competitive landscape and is truly remarkable in that many of the key people we reach feel compelled to talk about it," what would happen?

Read the full blog post

If you've read Jim Collins', "Good to Great" then you'll probably know the phrase, "Good is the enemy of great." If you want some opinions on the flip side of the coin, have a look at the trackback links (the ones at the bottom) in the blog.

[Dave A]

I think we have to constantly remind ourselves that we have to choose — good or great, those are the options.

I pretty much like that statement all on it's own. Perhaps not quite the way it was intended, but it reminds me - If you're going to do something great, you're sure going to have to make some choices! Normally about what you are not going to do!

But to Seth Godin and good enough. I'm certainly reminded of the well-used phrase - "Good enough seldom is."

Personally I prefer "Consistently strive toward perfection" as a watchword. The "good enough seldom is" mantra implies that if it isn't better than good enough, there is no value in there and you've wasted your time. This is simply not true. It's a workable product which meets the parameters. That's quality. That's success. Yes. It's not extrordinary, but it's something functional that wasn't there before. Good enough for today at least. And something to build on tomorrow.

Should good enough be our goal? Absolutely not. It's a bare minimum. And if you have the talent and adopt my mantra the fact that any one product is only good enough is not for your lack of a goal for better. It will be for a lack of "space" to achieve better. Operating within constraints is, in most instances, a reality.

Perhaps that is why I prefer not being employed by someone else. I have more control on that "space," not to mention having a little more choice as to what I want to be exceptional at.