WEBVTT - Fit for purpose 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to recognize that not everything needs to

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<v Speaker 1>be world class. Some things can just be fit for purpose.

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<v Speaker 1>This tip, like another one this week, comes from Michael C.

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<v Speaker 1>Mankin's and Eric Garden's book Time Talent Energy, Overcome Organizational

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<v Speaker 1>Drag and Unleash your Team's productive power. Mankins and Garden

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<v Speaker 1>share advice on how to overcome institutional inefficiencies that keep

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<v Speaker 1>teams from getting great things done. Mankins and Garden note

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<v Speaker 1>that while people love to talk about being world class,

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<v Speaker 1>not everything needs to reach those standards. Indeed, not trying

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<v Speaker 1>to make everything world class freeze up energy for the

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<v Speaker 1>areas that matter most. If your company makes widgets, well,

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<v Speaker 1>you might want to make the world's best widgets. But

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<v Speaker 1>your employee handbook, as long as it answers most of

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<v Speaker 1>your employees questions, that is fit for purpose, as they

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<v Speaker 1>call it. In other words, it's good enough. I think

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of wisdom in this for business, sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but the concept of fit for purpose can be transformative

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<v Speaker 1>for our personal lives as well. I talk with a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of high achievers who take it as a given

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<v Speaker 1>that anything less than straight a's means failure. Not only

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<v Speaker 1>do they want to excel professionally, they aim to look

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<v Speaker 1>gorgeous seven, be Volunteer of the Year, have a house

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<v Speaker 1>that could be on the cover of House Beautiful, and

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<v Speaker 1>so forth. It's an interesting idea, but here's the thing.

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<v Speaker 1>If you aim for a plus work on everything, you

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<v Speaker 1>will inevitably under invest in the places where you can

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<v Speaker 1>uniquely shine. Time spent polishing your kitchen counters is time

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<v Speaker 1>not spent talking with your kids. If you are not

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<v Speaker 1>personally a graphic designer, then the time spent perfecting the

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<v Speaker 1>graphic design and that employee manual for your small business

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<v Speaker 1>is time you are not coaching your actual employees or

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<v Speaker 1>drumming up new business. So your employees are happily busy.

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<v Speaker 1>You are much better off letting some aspects of your

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<v Speaker 1>life be good enough or fit for purpose, and saving

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<v Speaker 1>your greatest efforts for the areas that are most important

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<v Speaker 1>to you. So let's start thinking this way. Adult life

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<v Speaker 1>is not a traditional report card. Instead, picture a report

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<v Speaker 1>card where you are only graded in a few core

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<v Speaker 1>classes three maybe four. Everything else is past fail. There

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<v Speaker 1>is zero difference in aiming for a C or an

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<v Speaker 1>A in a past field class, and if you have

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<v Speaker 1>to invest extra time to get what would be an

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<v Speaker 1>A in a past field class, this actively takes time

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<v Speaker 1>away from the graded ones that count. So let's get

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<v Speaker 1>comfortable with some sea level work. Did your family eat

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<v Speaker 1>something reasonably healthy and eat together a few times last week? Awesome?

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<v Speaker 1>Your meals are fit for purpose? Are your kitchen and

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<v Speaker 1>bathrooms fairly clean? And no one has stayed home from

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<v Speaker 1>school because they have nothing to wear? Awesome? There is

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<v Speaker 1>no white glove home inspection. Your preschooler is fine with

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<v Speaker 1>grocery store cupcakes. Your friends would love to bring a

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<v Speaker 1>bottle of wine over while you order in from the

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<v Speaker 1>local pizza place. That most certainly counts as entertaining, and

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<v Speaker 1>it frees you up to focus on nurturing your relationships

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<v Speaker 1>instead of whether you time the appetizers to come out

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<v Speaker 1>enough before the main course. So the next time you

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<v Speaker 1>feel pressured to find the perfect gift, or bake a

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<v Speaker 1>prize winning pie to take to a family get together,

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<v Speaker 1>or spend the whole day cleaning your house, ask yourself

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<v Speaker 1>what fit for purpose would look like. What are you

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<v Speaker 1>trying to accomplish and what will it take to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>By aiming for fit for purpose instead of the best ever,

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<v Speaker 1>you can free up time and energy to direct to

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<v Speaker 1>other places and to be present with the people you love.

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<v Speaker 1>What I would say is a world class approach. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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