The Myth of Perfection

Houston Business Growth Podcast:

Host: Brian Webb

Episode 4: The Myth of Perfection

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Description:

LISTEN TODAY, as the host, Brian Webb, talks about the myth of perfection. It's easy for any of us, our businesses, our organizations, to end up in a stall because we can become helplessly paralyzed by our desire for perfection.  Listen as Brian walks you through how to do everything you can to help your organization to grow and not let the perfect ruin the good.

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Helpful Links:

Patrick Lencioni: The Five Temptations of a CEO - 

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Podcast Sponsored By: SERVPRO® Disaster Recovery Team Houston

Find and Follow our Sponsor, SERVPRO® Disaster Recovery Team Houston

Web: www.disasterrecoveryteamhouston.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servpro-disaster-recovery-team-houston/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SERVPRO9734

Intro Video:  https://youtu.be/YH1GXKrRUTU

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Connect w/ Brian Webb

Web: https://cmo.webbmarketing.solutions/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrianwebb/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebrianwebb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianwebb/

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Click on this link for a full transcript of the podcast: 

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Like what you hear? Want to Subscribe? Connect with Houston Business Growth Podcast on Apple Podcasts - Subscribe and leave us a review. Your participation helps us grow and reach more business owners and leaders just like you.

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Transcript:

Brian Webb:

Hey there everyone. Welcome to the Houston Business Growth Podcast. I'm your host, Brian Webb. This podcast is designed for entrepreneurs, just like you, that want to grow your business faster and make better decisions with fewer regrets. We're here to help you grow by bringing you tools, tips, and tricks, along with success stories and industry expert interviews that will help you to grow your business and your team while helping you to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that cost you so much money and wasted time. With no further ado, let's jump into today's episode.

Brian Webb:

Hey there everyone. This is Brian Webb. Welcome to this week's episode of the Houston Business Growth Podcast. Today I want to talk to you about something that you have seen, you might even struggle with it. I can tell you that at times, if I don't have my guard up, if I'm not being self-aware, I can struggle with it, and it's a little thing called perfection. And what I want to do today is speak to you about the myth of perfection. It's easy for any of us, our businesses, our organizations, to end up in a stall because we can become helplessly paralyzed by our desire for perfection.

I read Patrick Lencioni's book many, many years ago called the Five Temptations of a CEO. And he warns about the temptation to always choose certainty over clarity. Many times in my experience, the best tactical move is simply to move. Do something, avoid the trap. This is my encouragement. Avoid the trap of constantly waiting for more information before making decisions to move forward. Where does this temptation come from? In a word, fear. Fear that executing our plans or moving forward without volumes of documentation guaranteeing our imminent success will somehow show our superiors, our colleagues, our direct reports and the world that our plan was not perfect. So rather than risk judgment, maybe a bruised ego, or being labeled a fraud or an imposter, we do nothing. We wait. And as a result, businesses and organizations suffer from this.

Many outstanding big picture thinkers that I've met are always looking for and burdened by the search for perfection. But in my experience, that path leads to procrastination, which leads to stagnancy and ultimately, or potentially even failure.

I have five questions that I want to give you as a way of self-assessment for you to decide for yourself if you potentially struggle with perfectionism.

Question number one, do you pride yourself on being intellectually precise? If I were to go and ask the five people who know you the best if you struggle with this, what would be their answer?

Question number two, do you regularly prefer to wait for more information rather than making a decision without all of the facts?

Question number three, do your direct report seem chronically irritable because you schedule so many meetings and demand too much data, too much information, too many case studies?

Question number four, do you enjoy debating details with your direct reports during staff meetings?

One more. Do you find yourself repelling other action-oriented people?

We'll get back to today's episode in just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor.

Brian Webb:

Today's episode is brought to you by team Meacham at SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team Houston. Whether you know it or not, your business needs an emergency response plan. We see it on the news all the time, another business owner who experiences tragic loss due to fire or extreme storms like hurricanes or flooding. And we all hope it will never happen to us. But research shows that up to 50% of all businesses shut down after a major disaster. And if the property damage isn't bad enough, the business downtime and loss and revenue only makes it worse. So should your business be devastated from a fire flood or storm damage, how do you minimize the downtime and frustration of getting back to normal as soon as possible?

Brian Webb:

Here's the answer. You need an emergency response plan. How do you achieve this? It's easy and it's free. Once you reach out to SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team Houston, one of their ERP specialists will set up a time to meet with you or someone from your team. When the specialist shows up, they will walk through your facility with you and make a concise profile document for your business, outlining all of the critical information like where the electric water and gas shut off valves are located, along with the priority areas of your business and the primary points of contact.

Brian Webb:

Wouldn't you prefer that when someone does show up to assist you in a time of crisis, that they already know what to do, where to go, whom to call and how to get started? Of course, you would. Additionally, imagine getting VIP service like three-hour priority response time when you call and the work begins on arrival to bring your business back to normal, as quickly as possible.

Brian Webb:

Before the SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team Houston even shows up, they already have photos of your facility, they know where to park and exactly who they should be dealing with. And guess what? It's free. No contracts, no catch. You really need to get this taken care of today. You want to be prepared in the event your business does experience fire, water, or severe storm damage. To make this happen, simply call the SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team Houston office at (281) 419-9796. Or even easier, simply text ERP to (832) 713-6881 and one of their specialists will reach out to you right away.

Brian Webb:

We hope that you never experience a disaster that adversely affects your business. But if you do, don't you deserve to know that you can worry less by knowing that you're in the best hands possible? Of course, you do. Again, call (281) 419-9796 or simply text the letters ERP to (832) 713-6881. You'll be so glad you did.

Brian Webb:

So if you do identify with some of these self-assessment questions about whether or not you struggle with perfectionism, I get it because I can deal with it at times as well. Perfectionism creeps up on us if we're not careful, but I want to give you four tips today. If you feel like you do struggle with perfectionism, I want to give you four tips for working towards overcoming perfectionism.

Tip number one, instead of constantly feeling disappointed or grieving over something that you don't feel like is perfect, set more realistic expectations for yourself. As perfectionists, we can tend to set ridiculously high standards and unrealistic expectations for ourselves and for others. And because these expectations are impossible to meet, we're constantly disappointed and frustrated. I know the idea of "lowering your expectations" can be hard to accept, but it does lead to greater happiness and more satisfying relationships too for that matter. We ultimately have to realize that we're expecting the impossible from ourselves and we can't control and force others to meet our unrealistic or unreasonable expectations. So if you're continually disappointed and upset with yourself and others when things aren't perfect, it's an opportunity, I would suggest, to reassess and set more realistic expectations. Ones that you and others can reasonably meet.

Tip number two, instead of criticizing yourself, practice some self-compassion. Perfectionists are notoriously intolerant of flaws and shortcomings. So we tend to be very hard on ourselves, but self-criticism is both undeserved and I would say unhelpful. Everyone struggles and is imperfect. We all make mistakes and we feel inadequate sometimes. Kindness motivates us to do better. Whereas criticizing and shaming ourselves tends to be demotivating. Try to give yourself the same compassion that you would show to a friend or a family member, a kind word or an uplifting message when you're feeling down.

Three, instead of seeing mistakes as failures, and this is probably one of the best tips I can give you today, adopt a growth mindset. When we have an attitude to growth, we tend to see mistakes as a normal and helpful part of the learning process. The only way to really improve at something is to try, fail, and try again. Instead of trying to avoid mistakes and failures, reframe them as normal and an essential part of your growth.

Tip number four, instead of defining yourself by your accomplishments, focus more on your character. Perfectionists tend to define themselves and their worth by their accomplishments. This leaves us always pushing ourselves to do more, to be more, and to prove ourselves to the world and to ourselves. Accomplishments certainly have their place. Obviously, we all want to accomplish great things in life. We want to have a big impact, but you're so much more than a Harvard graduate or a bestselling author or volunteer of the year or any other title or accomplishment that you have on your resume. Your value as a person isn't dependent on being the best or earning it. You are worthy because of who you are, not what you've accomplished. Focusing on good qualities and values and strengths will help you to reclaim at self-worth.

So for the sake of your organization, business leaders, my encouragement is don't get into a ready aim, aim, aim, aim, aim, situation, where you think about something, you procrastinate making decisions. You want to get out there and you want to do everything you can to help your organization to grow. My encouragement is don't let the perfect ruin the good. Go out there, ready, aim, fire. Thanks, everyone. Go make it a great day today.

Thank you for listening to today's episode of the Houston Business Growth Podcast. As always, we're here to help you grow your leadership and your business by making better decisions with fewer regrets. If you've enjoyed the show, please let us know by subscribing to the show and leaving us a review. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to your favorite podcasts. Again, thank you for listening. We'll see you on the next episode.

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Tags:

Houston Business, Houston Business Growth, Houston Business Growth Podcast, Brian Webb, Entrepreneurs, Houston, sales, marketing, leadership, Servpro, Randy Meacham, Susan Meacham, Disaster Recovery Team Houston, Extreme Team Meacham