Perfection vs. Excellence

A few weeks ago I was with a dental client and John Jones from Patterson Dental Company walked in the front door, saw me sitting at the front desk and turned to his colleague and said, “Ms. Happy’s in the house.” I started laughing and said, “Hey!” Well, the funny thing is that I wasn’t always this way at work. You see 17 or so ago, John walked into my father’s dental practice and wanted to talk to me about a latex glove special. He was just starting his career and I really didn’t give him much time and remember being kind of short with him because he didn’t have an appointment and I really didn’t want to be bothered.

I regret that interaction and am so glad I found this poem by Sherry Conger around that same time period. It made me do a gut check and make some positive changes in how I interact with others at work. Are you a perfectionist or do you strive for excellence?