A Fresh Perspective on Perfectionism, Inspired by HBR Ideacast

A Fresh Perspective on Perfectionism, Inspired by HBR Ideacast I recently listened to a thought-provoking episode of HBR Ideacast featuring Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, which explores how to understand and manage perfectionism. The episode draws on insights from her book How to Be Enough—a read I highly recommend. For me, the conversation was eye-opening. It prompted a fundamental shift in how I approach perfectionism. Why? Because it led me to revisit the first principles behind this often misunderstood mindset. Here are a few key takeaways: -Perfectionism isn’t about wanting everything to be flawless. Rather, it stems from overvaluing performance—viewing outcomes in binary terms (success or failure) and tying one’s self-worth to results. -It’s often driven by a positive trait: conscientiousness. This includes a strong sense of responsibility, diligence, a desire for excellence—all admirable qualities. However, when unchecked, they can push us beyond the point of diminishing returns. In essence, perfectionism arises when our conscientiousness compels us to keep refining or reworking something—whether it’s a report, decision, or assessment—even when further effort no longer adds value. In other words, when we ignore the “good enough” principle. Reflecting on my own habits through this lens, I recognize that I often struggle to draw that line. More than once, I’ve spent excessive time on tasks that, in hindsight, didn’t warrant it. To address this, I’m adopting a simple rule: Before continuing to improve a piece of work, I’ll ask myself—Is this already good enough for the purpose it serves? Lastly, if a recruiter asks me about my biggest weakness, I may still say "perfectionism"—but now, I can explain it with a deeper, more nuanced understanding of what that means and how I’m working to manage it constructively. https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/hbr-ideacast/id152022135?i=1000683028403

- Pedro

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No te Pierdas Aprendemos Juntos 2030: Inspiración y Aprendizaje en Cada Charla

Aprendemos Juntos 2030" es una iniciativa de BBVA que no te puedes perder por su calidad, diversidad y la impresionante trayectoria de sus invitados, quienes aportan conocimiento y experiencia única. He visto muchas charlas sobre diversos temas y ninguna me ha decepcionado. Si ya no sabes qué ver en tus plataformas de streaming, échale un vistazo y aprendamos juntos (texto revisado por un LLM) En BBVA creemos posible una vida mejor en un mundo más sostenible y queremos ofrecerte las herramientas para enfrentar los grandes retos del futuro. En este canal descubrirás las historias más inspiradoras y los contenidos más útiles para afrontar tu día a día, animándonos a luchar por una sociedad más inclusiva y respetuosa con el planeta. Suscríbete y no te pierdas todas nuestras novedades, ¡te esperamos! https://www.youtube.com/@AprendemosJuntos/featured

- Pedro

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Acabei O Tigre Branco por Aravind Adiga, Alice Rocha (Tradutor) -> A minha avaliação- 3/5 (Qualitativa - “Gostei”)

Acabei O Tigre Branco por Aravind Adiga, Alice Rocha (Tradutor) A minha avaliação- 3/5 (Qualitativa - “Gostei”) Um livro de leitura muito fácil que nos narra a história de Balram Halwai (também conhecido como Munna), um empreendedor indiano, e que nos transporta pela sociedade indiana do início do século XXI (>2010). A história de Balram é apenas um meio para nos apresentar a sociedade indiana atual e que, no meu caso em particular, nos faz entrar numa realidade que desconhecemos ou que tínhamos esquecido, sendo difícil de compreender ou até mesmo conceptualizar. Este retrato da sociedade indiana é direto, duro, assertivo, crítico e claro, identificando as disparidades e idiossincrasias chocantes que, ainda hoje, subsistem no maior país do mundo. Confesso que tinha um conhecimento relativo da importância e relevância das castas durante o século XX (por outro livro que li, do qual não me recordo o título nem o autor), mas não tinha a perceção (ou estava muito esquecida, e este livro fez reavivá-la) de todas as disparidades que ainda persistem neste país com mais de 1,5 mil milhões de cidadãos. Por vezes, este choque com a realidade, proporcionado pela leitura de livros como este, permite-nos perceber as diferenças culturais a que cada um de nós está exposto desde pequeno e que, direta ou indiretamente, nos influenciam na vida pessoal e profissional, criando uma diferença cultural que devemos considerar para compreender melhor aqueles com quem interagimos. Aconselho vivamente a sua leitura para conhecer uma realidade tão diferente da nossa (europeia) e, assim, promover o conhecimento de outras culturas e realidades, ampliando a nossa visão do mundo. (texto revisto por um LLM) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7255189611

- Pedro

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El Gran Otro: Cómo el Capitalismo de Vigilancia Moldea Nuestros Comportamientos

He terminado La era del capitalismo de la vigilancia: La lucha por un futuro humano frente a las nuevas fronteras del poder por by Shoshana Zuboff, Albino Santos (Translator) Mi valoracion - 3/5 (Qualitativa - “Me ha gustado”) Un extenso libro sobre lo que la autora define como el capitalismo de vigilancia, que representa un nuevo paradigma para la sociedad, en el cual nosotros (los humanos) y nuestros comportamientos somos la fuente principal de materia prima para este proceso. Shoshana nos guía de manera exhaustiva a través de sus orígenes, cómo funciona y la importancia del behavioral surplus (excedente conductual) como base de todo. También aborda quiénes son los ganadores de esta nueva forma de organización social y económica (las "Magnificent 7") y quiénes son los grandes perdedores (nosotros). Se nos presenta todo lo que estamos perdiendo, en la mayoría de los casos sin ser conscientes de ello. Asimismo, se explican los riesgos a los que nos enfrentamos como sociedad: el fin de la privacidad, el libre albedrío individual y la creación de un "Gran Otro" que intenta influir en todos nuestros comportamientos. Es un libro cuya lectura recomiendo encarecidamente. Sin embargo, no es para todos, ya que resulta demasiado extenso. Estoy convencido de que podría reducirse fácilmente en un tercio de sus 861 páginas actuales sin perder su valor. De hecho, creo que esa reducción aportaría mayor claridad y eficacia al mensaje. Como diría Saint-Exupéry: "La perfección no se alcanza cuando no hay nada más que añadir, sino cuando no hay nada más que quitar". (texto revisado por LLM)

- Pedro

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O-Ring Theory of Development and its importance on a company organization, HR, output & wages

Came across this economic theory by chance (on the Marginal Revolution Blog - Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok) and it was surprisingly insightful, simple and helped to structure my line of thought on the areas of: Management, Organization setup and the importance of Areas of Excellence within an organization. 

Additionally, it also explains the pay gap between excellent (A-players) and very good & below associates (B/C/D - Players).

I strongly advise you to see the video of 19 minutes that provides a great overview of this theory (so you can also understand the math).

So the O-Ring Theory of Development (Michael Kremer, 1993) is underpinned by the following assumptions:

1. Production (broad sense) depends on completing a number of tasks;
2. Failure or quality curtailment of any task reduces the entire product (weakest link problem);
3. Quantity cannot substitute quality (2 mediocre Finance Directors will not do a better job than a great Finance Director)

If you take a broad approach to this production function you have a company or even an entire economy.

Main practical deliverables of such theory:

• Quality matching - you should put your high quality workers together (preferentially allocated to the company areas of excellence, based on its value chain) and the other workers (B/C) also together, instead of mixing them up, as the results will be significantly better;
• Higher quality it will imply better results (i.e. better outputs)
• Higher outputs/results will result in better wages (macroeconomics 101) for any organization & that the function Output/Wages is not linear

• The wage distribution is severely skewed to the right and the talent distribution follows a normal distribution (that is why small incremental talent on the top decile can have a significant impact on the associates wages);

• Workers performing in high-skill firms will have higher wages than low-skill firms (look at the wage gap of tech/pharma companies compared with other industries);
• Talent attracts Talent - High quality worker will want to work with other of the same standards (virtuous cycle)
• There is an tremendous incentive to invest in skills/quality of the workers (company and and associates)
• This theory has several "equilibria", meaning that if your are surrounded by high quality workers it pays-off to invest in becoming one, but if you are within a non-high quality organization it does not pay-off to invest, as your higher potential output will be severely curtailed by the others;
• Capital will be allocated to high quality organizations or within the organization to the areas with the highest quality potential - so if you are investing within your organization make sure you have your A-team on that area.

You can think your organization is performing several activities throughout your value chain, thus applying this theory you can identify bottlenecks, linkages and complementarities and don't forget where are your areas of excellence based on the Value Proposition so you can have your A-players on it!

Do managers add value?

The usefulness of managers

Interesting article from the Economist over the value that managers can bring into organizations, based on a study performed by Stephan Billinger and Stephen Rosenbaum*.

Based on the study:

• Managers bring value into an organization, as they promoted the collaboration within a group / achieved better results than a randomized control groups without managers;
• Manager incentives matter both for managers and for workers:
• Workers become suspicious of managers when incentives are included;
• Managers react positively to incentives, however incentives might exacerbate the agency problem and promote short-term behaviors (with the company and with its associates).

My conclusions:

• Managers within a proper framework add value to any organization;
• The incentives/rewards drive culture and behaviors, thus quintessential to a company success.

*Discretionary mechanisms and co-operation in hierarchies: An experimental study, Journal of Economic Psychology 74

Study on the reading list

Review: How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A book that was recommended by several persons (friends, acquaintances & personal influencers), dated from 1930 just met my expectation (no more or less than that). It has interesting principles and advises that one should be aware and follow with a "big" grain of salt and dose of critical thinking.

It's well written, structured and clearly states its objectives. The examples and anecdotes that support the rationale and underlying messages & takeaways are just that and for sure there are plenty that one could mention contrarian to the principles disclosed.

Do admit that this book has to be framed and evaluated under the 1930 management prevailing style (direct and control leadership) and i'm sure it brought to the discussion several new ideas/principles that later became new leadership styles (supporting, delegation and even coaching).

It's a good read, although would not meet my "strongly recommended book" threshold.

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Review: Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Easy and nice read on behavior economics (specially for non-economists), with good takeaways, insights and useful advice ...from 2/3 of the book onwards slightly repetitive as the thesis, associated concepts were already duly presented and explained.

Do recommend its reading if interested on the subject!

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