In a recent conversation with one of my clients, he shared that his business showed a growth in sales during the pandemic of 2020 that had defied all expectations. 

Furthermore, he had just become acquainted with someone he sensed would have high potential as a member of his team, but hiring is a big decision, and he was understandably hesitating. Did his business actually need the new role he was considering? If so, was now the right time to create and fill it, or would it be wiser to wait? If now, then was the person he had in mind the right choice?

A wrong answer to any of these questions could cost him, so he chose to use our time to think through them. Hiring someone without the necessary qualities for success in his business and its culture would be costly. Hesitating to create and fill this new role might mean missing out on acquiring a talented performer who seemed to sync with company culture. Creating a role his business didn’t need did not seem efficient…

At the mention of this word efficient, I recalled an episodeª of a podcast in which one of my favorite leadership consultantsº had argued that striving for excellence in more than one of three areas, among which was “operational excellence”, was a recipe for mediocrity. When I shared this thought with my client, he realized that the personal attention he gives his clients is clearly more important to him than the efficiency of operational excellence. This insight about his priorities cleared a path for his action.

“I can’t do it all,” he said at the end of our session, reflecting on the insight he had gained. It’s enough to do the most important things well. The pursuit of perfection can paralyze us, but the power of priority can propel us to action.

ª https://www.tablegroup.com/hub/post/19-making-strategy-simple/

º Patrick Lencioni was referring to The Discipline of Market Leaders by Brian Treacy and Fred Wiersema (https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/michael-treacy/the-discipline-of-market-leaders/9780465003976/).