The Goodenuff Monster
They say a problem named is a problem half solved. I’ve not only named this one, I’ve given it a face. Meet the Goodenuff Monster.
Regular readers may recognize portions of this post – It is updated material from something I wrote in 2010.
Who Or What Is The Goodenuff Monster?
The Goodenuff Monster is a faulty thought process that justifies second-rate performance. Often, he presents himself when we’re trying do things ourselves that would benefit from teamwork.
Although easy to spot he makes himself appear harmless by appealing to our sense of humanity — “Come on, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s goodenuff.”
How To Slay The Goodenuff Monster
Unless you are a neurosurgeon it’s not reasonable or feasible to try to do everything perfectly. This is where the beauty of teams comes to the rescue. In a high functioning team each person or group owns a specific piece of the puzzle. This allows members or divisions to focus entirely on their core competencies and responsibilities.
To be effective is to hold ourselves accountable to each other and to speak up when we see an element that is out of sync. So if a colleague or team member points out something in need of improvement, accept it gratefully and know you’re doing your part to slay the Goodenuff Monster.
More heads = better result. Using a group encourages disruptive innovation by an objective third party, team members with specializations (so they can focus on their individual section, as mentioned above), and accountability to the schedule (no one wants to let down the other members of the team). You just need to make sure to shake up the teams. Don’t use the same team members on the same team all the time. This allows for potential “group think” situations that are less likely to happen if the team members are rotated regularly. I agree, Goodenuff is never the correct answer.
J Tun,
I’m so sorry to have taken this long to reply – somehow I missed this one.
I love your comment about changing team members to ensure thinking stays fresh.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Susan