Why "A" Players Should Settle for "B" Work

Do you consider yourself an “A” player?

For example, as a student, you performed well in school, racking up all A’s on your report cards.

In the work world, you ace your assignments.

Beware though. In today’s work environment, acing your assignments is great. However, being a perfectionist while doing so is hazardous to your job, well-being, and happiness.

As defined by experts, “A” players are not perfectionists. Instead, “A” players accomplish the outcomes defined for them in a manner consistent with the organization’s culture and values, explains Geoff Smart, CEO of ghSMART and co-author, with Randy Street, of the New York Times bestselling book Who: The A Method for Hiring

To achieve results, you shouldn’t be compulsive about always creating the perfect thing. Good or very good can be as effective as perfect, especially if your customers have different standards than yours.

In other words, your “B” efforts can work wonders for others. Admit it, will they really notice the clever turn of a phrase, the alliteration, the literary references, etc.? So why bother?

Taking the time to transform “B” work into an “A” masterpiece wastes valuable resources, thanks to the law of diminishing returns in economics. The additional time you spend on perfecting means you’ll have less time, energy, and creative juices to devote to critical tasks.

Just as bad—or maybe even worse—you also may find yourself concentrating more on today’s actions rather than thinking about tomorrow’s issues. And the more you do this, the more you run the risk of being tagged as a tactician who reacts rather than a strategic thinker who advises and gets results.

Granted, doing “B” work and being satisfied with it is a difficult mindset for many. However, once you adjust to the idea and start to master it, you free up valuable time. That’s been one of the learnings among the participants in my Strategic Communications Action Workshop.

For example, we’ve talked about the importance of having the ability, availability, affability, adaptability, and aptitude to anticipate needs to serve leaders as strategic advisors. But earning all “A”s in these ways doesn’t require slaving over something that’s not very important in the whole scheme of things.So as a rule of thumb, I advise others when creating materials to write a great draft instead of nailing the perfect piece, especially it’s for internal eyes and has a short lifespan. This approach is even more important when they’re turning over their creation to others who will massage it for their own use. For instance, talking points, a focus group guide, and even an Intranet article that’s for information only deserve some quality effort, but not perfection.

And if you doubt me, check out these great resources: the provocative Harvard Business Publishing online article Why Doing Things Half Right Gives You the Best Results and the hilarious book The Underachiever’s Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great

So don’t settle for imperfection. Strive for it! And earn another “A”!

P.S. No perfectionists were involved in the creation of this blog post. Any mistakes are mine, for which I apologize. Feel free to tell me about them as well as your experiences getting past perfectionism.