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September 02, 2009
Devil Perfectionism
Tormented GC in South East Asia: "The dweebs. The dweebs."
The downside of Type-A. Perfectionism. A great place to "be from". A wonderful instinct, if controlled. It's also a curse: of eldest children, professionals, knowledge workers, most lawyers, all spouses, your Mom, and the geek classes, or Techwazee.
The horror, the horror. Too much, and you need rehab. Worse, your senior partner will start questioning your judgment. Clients 99% of the time are not paying you to be perfect. They don't want it.
Be excellent--not perfect. See "Rule 10: Be Accurate, Thorough and Timely--But Not Perfect" in WAC?'s annoying-but-accurate 12 Rules.
(Photo: Paramount Pictures)
Posted by Rob Bodine at September 2, 2009 12:01 AM
Comments
Perfectionism, I think, contributes to the higher-than-average occurrence of depression in lawyers. Most of us know enough to make allowances for others’ humanity; we should make a little allowance for our own. Because, God knows, we are human.
Posted by: Ray Ward at September 1, 2009 08:45 PM
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