Monday Mindset #2

One of the most provocative and hard-hitting quotes we read this week was from Darius Foroux.

He said “if you’re a perfectionist, you’re just a procrastinator with a mask. It’s no different from someone who’s lazy and does nothing at all.”

He is arguing that the price of perfectionism isn’t worth it. You might get the outcomes you’re looking for someday – but when, and at what cost? 
 

A perfectionist always waits for the right moment,
Never makes mistakes, and
Always needs more time.
 

No matter if you are a person who never starts or is never satisfied with whatever you do, anxiety, worry, depression, and Type A behavior are sure to follow perfectionism. 

Of course, you shouldn’t lower your ambitions. 

You should try to achieve the goals but at the same time think about how you are reaching them? If you’re a high achiever but you get paid in stress and worry, you need to change your mindset.

Read more here

When Vilfredo Pareto noticed that 20% of the pea plants in his garden generated 80% of the healthy pea pods – he discovered a rule that applies to much of life. 

He investigated different industries and found that 80% of production typically came from just 20% of the companies. The generalization became:

“80% of results will come from just 20% of the action”

In this article, Kevin Kruse gives examples of where the rule applies and how you can apply it to your professional life. 

As a tech leader you’re faced with hundreds of decisions every week, many of them business-critical. Some of you in early-stage companies will be regularly fire-fighting and No matter how hard you try, you’ll never put them all out. 

The Pareto approach is to understand which 20% delivers your 80%. 

Do you always have too many problems to handle?

Do you have a process that enables you to take a step back and analyse where those problems come from and where the priorities might be?

By creating that space and perspective you’ll often see there are many problems that, if solved, automatically resolve other problems. 

Try to reduce stress (and perfectionism).
Adopt the 80/20 rule and focus your time on high-priority (and value add).
 

We always suggest … do the hardest and most complex task first thing in the morning and the rest of the day will seem a lot easier!

Read the full article here