The Trees are Blocking the Forest
I hired a software developer to help me create the spiritually-inspired business I mentioned in a previous post. He introduced himself to me at just the right time, he was able to execute the project with relative ease, and is doing so remarkably fast. At launch, the project will be far and above my greatest expectations. Yet, what do I do? Rather than focusing on all of the outstanding work and added features he has brought to the project, I focus on the few little things he isn’t doing as well as I would like.
On the basis that this person is delivering quality work at 109% effort, the only thing I was seeing for a few days was the missing 1% that would bring the project up to a 110% effort. What’s worse is that I was honing in so closely on the missing 1% that everything else was irrelevant—the 109% could not be seen. Then, my false perception of reality started to be reflected in my communications with the developer (who is not only talented, but is also a good-spirited, nice guy) and I was having doubts about working with this person in the future.
Fortunately, the halting of my thoughts through meditation allowed for the whisper of the universe to be heard. Once again, the problem was not the other person, it was me and my own thinking. I’ve since changed my perspective and the tone of my communications allowing for my relationship with the developer to be positive, joyful, and even more productive. Even though it is hard to witness my flaws, the resulting transformation enriches life beyond what I ever thought possible.
posted by David Treanor @ 9:04 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I always appreciate how honestly you share. Thank you.
In business, we are trained to be "critical thinkers", which I think is part of the problem. We are expected to see the flaws and to find a better way of doing things, but at what cost?
A friend of mine worked in an organization where, when you were reviewed by your superiors, the best review you could get was "nothing negative to report." How sad is that?
Sometimes we get caught up in perfectionism, and then we do lose sight of how good a job someone else is doing. I once had a boss who would ask me to make a phone call to get information for him. When I would make the call, I would try to cover every possible contingency before reporting back to my boss. Inevitably, my boss would ask me one final question that I hadn't thought of, and it was usually not essential. I call it the "What color underwear did he have on?" question. Unessential and also unanswerable. I suppose it gave my boss a sense of control in the situation, but I secretly suspect that he used these situations to feed his own ego.
I have also learned to be generous in my affirmations. We all need to be affirmed that we're doing a good job and are appreciated. It doesn't cost anything to give an affirming message to someone, and the benefits are always mutual.
Thanks for the great reminder to stay positive and to always look at the big picture (the forest).
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