Perfection vs. Multi-tasking
One of the most common habits that is also one of the hardest to break is perfectionism. For all but a few roles (e.g. accounting) perfectionism causes a huge hit to productivity.I read somewhere last year that the best general managers make the right decisions 65 percent of the time, but are constantly monitoring the results of their decisions to enable them to adjust course should they find they erred in their thinking. Forward motion is almost always rewarded more than perfection.
One of the leading causes of the perfectionism affliction has to be our outdated academic system. A student graduating from a top college has been trained for 17 years that 93+ percent accuracy (A grade) is the definition for success.
If you ask most students, they will tell you that the effort to get an A versus a B is significant. It often doubles their work load. This is the same loss in productivity that you find with perfectionists in the workplace.
Perhaps the right target hire is the person with a B average who made the most of college through activities, internships, travel and work. Multi-tasking is far more valuable than perfection.
The quotation that resonates most with your entry is the following from the founder of IBM, Thomas J. Watson Sr:
“If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.”
The faster you fail the closer you will get to success. Some times there is analysis paralysis that gets managers stuck in a purgatory of indecision. Make a decision and soon you will know if it was right of not. While none of us want to fail, these are the times where we learn the most (even though there is a lot to learn from our successes, as well).
I'd say it depends on the context. For instance, I am a professional technical writer with a utility company. I write things like fact sheets about energy-efficiency measures recommended for a particular type of industrial facility. I also work as a nonprofit manager
When I've got the writer hat on, I do not multitask; I concentrate. Although a proofreader relieves me of the pressure to be "perfect," I strive for excellence, not 65% -- whatever that would mean.
"A students" and "B students" are probably suited for different kinds of work. However, Dilbert's pointy-headed boss is a "burning in effigy" of the kind of manager who sees his/her role, style, and preference as superior to that of the "perfectionist" professional.
The best balance might be knowing when to multi-task and when to be a perfectionist. You can't sustain being a perfectionist all the time and it isn't productive. But, constantly multi-tasking and losing the ability to focus and be present hurts job (and personal life) performance.