On Monday we wrote about building an imperfect business by focusing on success and not perfection. Today we provide 8 tips on how to do this.
1) If this resonates with you, ask for honest and candid feedback on your perfectionist tendencies – ask the truth teller in your organization or a trusted peer or colleague, or even your subordinates
2) Prioritize, with your direct reports, the work that must get done -
a. There should not be more than 3 to 5 high priority initiatives at a time
b. Remember, when everything is important or what is important changes frequently, then nothing is truly important
3) Delegate meaningful components of the work to your direct reports and designate by interest and strengths
a. Follow-up on their progress during your regularly scheduled meetings and not in between to minimize micro-managing
4) Develop and use an Implementation Planning document that identifies:
a. Tasks to be done
b. Responsible person
c. Milestone dates
d. Completion date
e. Anticipated resource/costs to tie to budget priorities
5) Use an administrative assistant to correct grammar, punctuation, font sizes and other “appearance” issues
6) Ask questions that are material and important for making a decision. When your questions become hypothetical and address unlikely consequences, have a trusted advisor let you know it’s time to stop asking questions and make a decision.
7) Adopt the 80/20 rule: when you’re 80% ready – decide and stick with it (assuming there are no egregious unanticipated consequences that require a course correction)
8) Acknowledge and recognize results-even consider providing incentives for getting the right things done – well and faster.
Copyright 2010 Kubica and LaForest
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