When is “good enough” good enough?
I’m not a coffee drinker - but I spend A LOT of time in coffee shops. One that I frequent for meetings with clients has the chalkboard in the attached photo behind the bar. And while I’m not a coffee drinker, I get it…. coffee aficionados appreciate that one should never settle for “good enough” coffee.
However, for the purpose of debate, I’ll take exception to the charge of “Never settle for good enough” as it relates to other aspects of life and leadership. Keep in mind, I am someone who believes Collins’ assertion that “good is the enemy of great”, I have little patience for mediocrity, and I do believe in absolutes. Still, here are a few thoughts…
“Never” and “Always” are really big words. Never? Really? “Of course”, you say, “there are exceptions to every rule.” Yes, often that’s the case. (And hint: If you’re ever in an interview and a candidate says “never” or “always”, you can stop listening, wait politely for them to finish, and re-ask your question in a more specific way.) I suppose it’s the “never” part on the sign that I’m challenging.
Gold-plating. As a young engineer, one of the bits of vernacular to which I was introduced was that of “gold plating”. It referred to adding something to a design that might make it prettier in some way but add no real value. Said differently, adding cost without adding function should be challenged. Consider the law of diminishing returns. At some point, that curve starts to flatten and too often, we find we should have stopped a long time ago.
Circumstances matter. In the ER, you don’t want your surgeon saying “Ehh, that’s good enough.” But consider a scenario where time, risk, and available resources dictate that the optimal solution isn’t possible in the moment, but we can proceed with an intermediate step. That may be the prudent decision to buy some time until a more permanent (dare I say “great”) solution can be put in place.
I suppose where I’m landing is that this perhaps is one more example where leaders must exercise critical thinking and discernment. Know your stakes. Do the math. And know when “good enough” is good enough - and when it’s not.