The Price of “Perfect”

Although he spoke at a conference several decades ago, I recall the speaker’s effectiveness. He was articulate, enthused, and credible. Some of us went up to him at the end of the session to ask questions and offer comments. One of us commented on his speaking ability and concluded by noting that he was a “natural.” On hearing this, the speaker became somewhat agitated explaining that he had worked long and hard to achieve his speaking ability—it was not natural. That speaker’s statement reminds me of this comment by Michelangelo, the Italian engineer, sculptor, and painter: “If people knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem wonderful at all.”

Another story of preparation and practice comes to mind. The pastor had just delivered a compelling sermon and, immediately after, during lunch, I asked him for his “secret.” He described, in great detail, a six-day preparation and practice process. He invested about twenty hours in each twenty-minute sermon, a sixty-to-one preparation and practice-to-delivery ratio. His speaking effectiveness was not natural; the price of “perfect” was hard work and preparation.

These two speaking anecdotes suggest that the price of “perfect,” that is, doing something very well, is preparation and practice. If we want to excel during our next tennis match, client presentation, project team meeting, or interview, then we too will need to prepare and practice—that is the price of “perfect.”

As we sincerely strive to do better, we will rarely experience dramatic breakthroughs. The road to improvement is more likely to consist of a series of small advances occasionally interspersed with setbacks. H. Jackson Brown, Jr., a communications consultant, put it this way: “The road to success is not doing one thing 100 percent better, but doing one hundred things 1 percent better.”

Famed football coach Vince Lombardi offered this advice on preparation and practice: “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” So what constitutes perfect practice? Taking a cue from the coach, and drawing on a variety of experiences, I believe that perfect practice requires the following:

Achieving perfection is unlikely even if you follow this preparation and practice advice. However, getting better is highly probable and every now and then you will be great. Martina Navratilova, nine-time Wimbledon singles winner, said this about preparation and practice: “Every great shot you hit, you’ve already hit a bunch of times in practice.” Set yourself up for hitting some “great shots.”

Modified from Walesh, S. G. (2006). “Preparation and practice: The price of ‘perfect.’” Indiana Professional Engineer, May-June.