One Thursday, Slack Technologies CEO Stewart Butterfield gets distracted by the squeaking chair of his design director and tells him, “You know how those fucking chairs make that fucking noise?” “Can you take all the squeaky ones and drag them out of there?”
Like Inc.com points out, for Butterfield, it’s a handy object lesson: If you’re willing to tolerate squeaky chairs, what else are you letting slide? And this is an extremely pertinent question for us today as we tackle multiple things at the same time.
I do find it disturbing to see innumerable articles on the internet talking about how to overcome perfectionism. Perfectionism has a negative connotation to it these days and it doesn’t have to be. In my opinion, perfectionism is a habit and so is being lackadaisical. You might let one of two things slide and before you know it, it all piles up and you’re left clearing a mess that could have been easily avoided.
While it is understandable to not obsess about every minor thing, we do need to be cognizant of what we are letting slide and consciously attempt to keep it at a minimum. Believe me, perfectionism and being organized does have its benefits. Take it from someone who’s drifted on both sides of the line.
So – what else are you letting slide?
The HR Business Partner Story 