Struggling to Achieve 100% Perfection at Work: How Can I Close That Last 1% Gap?

My boss is repeatedly providing me with feedback that I am doing my job with 99% perfection but not with 100% perfection. Can you please advise me on how to achieve that last 1%? I take care of company operations in India.

Before commenting on your question, let me address the last line of your post. It states that you oversee your company's India operations. Interpretations of this sentence could be that you must be a senior person with many managers reporting to you.

Often, juniors overlook finer details in their work, and when these are noticed by senior authorities, they bring them to the attention of juniors. Unfortunately, what you are expected to do with your juniors is sometimes done to you by your seniors. Your boss mentions that while you put in efforts to be 99% perfect, that 1% gap could nullify or negate all your efforts. Your boss emphasizes that people are rewarded for results, not efforts.

In this context, let me share one of the best quotes on perfectionism: "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence." - Vince Lombardi

In India, the "chalta hai" attitude is ingrained in our culture. This mindset goes against quality orientation. Some advocate for imperfection, rationalizing it as self-complacency. If the Japanese did not strive for perfectionism, Japan would not be renowned for quality as it is today. Unlike us, they do not accept imperfection easily. They have a firm belief in quality, which has become synonymous with Japan through their unwavering commitment.

For those who rationalize imperfection, would they accept a mobile phone or TV set that works at 99% perfection? These devices work flawlessly because the people behind them work with 100% perfection. There is no room for 99% perfection!

Now, onto the solution. Achieving 100% perfection will be a challenging task. The same dedication and effort that brought you to 99% will be required to reach 100%. Consistent effort is key.

Audit your work moving forward. Visualize the sequence of events and ensure you are fully prepared for each task. Stay well-informed and create process maps for tasks, identifying primary and secondary parties involved. Confirm they are adequately informed and have the necessary resources.

You are fortunate to have a supportive boss who recognizes your efforts. Your post lacks depth and introduction, reflecting poorly on your position as Head of India Operations.

All the best!

Regards, Dinesh Divekar

Adding to what Mr. Divekar has already said, I would also suggest that you ask your manager where he feels you need to improve. Many times, we assume that our reporting is what our boss needs, but in reality, he may want you to go the extra mile. So, be open, ask him for frank feedback, and take the feedback sportingly, without any side effects or biases.

Instead of making assumptions, ask, unlearn a few things, and relearn a few old ones. Asking will help you surpass the 99% and get closer to the 1% as you will have direction and can work on improvements. Additionally, analyze the corrections your boss makes on your work and strive to incorporate them beforehand.

Regards,

Dear colleague, your post lacks vital information. What is the business of your company? What is your exact role, and what are the deliverables expected of you?

Since your boss says you achieve 99% and lack 1% perfection, it indicates that there are well-defined measurable performance goals in place. As Ashutosh has stated, find out what this 1% lack is due to from your boss and focus only on that to reach 100% perfection as defined in your performance evaluation system.

My gut feeling is your boss is trying to bring out the best in you by pointing out the 1% lack in your achievement.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant.

First, thank you, Mr. Dinesh Divekar, for allowing me to provide some inputs.

Hi Appleboycat, the question is very interesting. Just to provide my opinion:

Nobody's perfect—Humans can never be perfect. Even technology has its flaws. Perfection is a dream, and the reality is it will never happen. But close to perfection—YES! Perfect is best (of course), but being done is better than being the best. There are a few professionals who may be so talented that they want a project to be perfect. By doing so, they tend to lose hope and patience because they can't reach that 100% perfection. At the end of the day, they fail and leave the project undone/incomplete. What I am saying here is you can aim for perfection, you can plan it to be perfect in every way you think possible. But not being done with it, that you worked on for a very long time, will mean only that you're a failure—so where's being perfect there? If you keep on trying to be 100% perfect, you cannot finish. But if you reach the goal you need to accomplish, that is way better. There will always be room for improvements—get a survey and feedback of the project to improve it. There is a word called "revision," so when you make policies and it somehow does not fit, then you revise it until it satisfies your audience. I am not saying that you cannot do an excellent job. That job may not be perfect, but you finished the job, and this alone is an excellent job. You will say to yourself, "Yes, I did it, my team and I did it! It's not perfect, but my boss loved it!" This is what you call DONE.

On the other hand, ask for the reasons in which area your boss did not like. Then work on improvements on the way to perfection—99.99% is good anyway! Please don't ask where is that 0.01%. Just remember, it's better not to be perfect but done. Best of luck to you! 

Well, many people use the word "perfect" interchangeably with excellence. So, my take is that rather than going down the path of perfection versus excellence, to address the issue, I would recommend, as someone suggested earlier, going back to your boss and asking him to share his thoughts. Ask for SPECIFIC instances where he feels you could step up.

As a third person, I am severely limited—from the two lines that you have shared, I may be able to think of a million reasons why that 1% may be missed, but only your boss would have his finger exactly on the pulse. Sometimes even your guessing may be wrong; what your boss feels is lacking could be a genuine 'blind spot' to you. It's best to ask him not from a place of feeling emotional but with complete earnestness, from a place of "I would like to improve and do my best, so I would request your valuable feedback for my personal growth and performance." I hope this helps; in any case, you are in a GOOD place (already 99% there is an achievement!). All the best with the 1%!

You can improve 100 things by 1% but not one thing by 100%. So, stop and analyze the key KPIs of your activities and start working towards each individual element. I am sure you will be able to succeed.