Should Flawless Execution Be Your Goal?

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“Flawless Execution” – I guess it’s appropriate to say that I’m haunted by this phrase since Halloween is this month.

Companies, hiring managers and – gasp – even I have used this term to describe what we expect from employees or ourselves when it comes to performance.

But is “flawless execution” really what we want?

To clarify, once we have identified a project, set goals, worked through the “kinks” and it’s now show-time – which in my world of marketing would be execution of an event, a major PR announcement or a product launch – then yes, the goal would be flawless execution.

When I was a college summer intern with another student at a chemical products plant (yeah, that was memorable), our job was to re-wire the electrical burners in a very long oven that was the entire length of the plant. Why they entrusted us with this job, I’ll never know. After working on this for about four weeks, we announced we had finished and all of the workers came to see us pull the switch to start the burners. Only one third of the burners started.

In this instance, flawless execution would have been a good idea, as well as testing it ourselves first.

Where I challenge us in our expectations of flawless execution is when we expect ourselves and/or our companies to be forward-thinking and to grow beyond what we are currently doing. To do so, we have to make allowances for “flawed execution”.

Without trial and error, we will never discover the next “big thing” or move beyond our current status.

Employees who are afraid to fail will not take the necessary steps to bring the company new ideas and test new concepts if their reviews are based on flawless execution. Would you take risks if your job was on the line? Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

It’s easier just to take the safe route.

I understand that we are all held to bottom lines and delivering results and budgets and pleasing shareholders. Really, I do. Been there, done that.

Yet there has got to be a way to allow for some calculated risk that allows the company and the employee to grow, with both reaping benefits.

The chemical company definitely took a risk allowing two college students to re-wire the electrical on a major piece of equipment. We thought we were in big trouble. But the company had taken a calculated risk, knowing we would probably not get it right the first time, choosing a slow-season in which the second oven could handle production needs.

As hiring managers we should rethink using the phrase “flawless execution” when reviewing potential candidates or developing job descriptions, and use that instead for a particular project. We should want to hire employees that will use critical thinking to take calculated risks, especially when developing new ideas or planning for the company’s future.

There really are ways to take risks and still meet goals, allowing some wiggle room for “flawed execution”.

When It Comes To Resumes, Content Is Critical

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Christmas at our house was a big deal when we were growing up.  Who am I kidding?  It’s still a big deal to me and Hubby knows it.  He has a hard time trying to live up to the expectations established by my family, particularly my grandmother.

Grandma always gave good gifts. I mean REALLY good.  We thought she was super rich. Only much later did I realize that she carefully planned her money and preferred to give it to the grandchildren instead of spending it on herself.

What Grandma understood best was presentation; the drama leading up to the gift.  She knew that we knew the gift would be good and she wanted us to work for it.  We had been taught to be so polite that if we opened her gift and were disappointed, we still smiled and thanked her profusely.  That’s when the fun began for Grandma.

Like the time I opened a huge box with a beautiful large bow, only to find a pair of fuzzy socks from the dollar store.  I smiled and thanked her, wondering if she’d lost all her money.  She coaxed me to try them on; I thought she was nuts.  But I did as she asked.  To my surprise, I found a diamond ring sewn inside the toe of the sock.

Score one for Grandma!  She knew the content of the gift was more important than the fancy wrapping and let me discover a true diamond in the rough.

Resumes are a lot like gifts.  They can surprise a hiring manager by presenting a good picture of the candidate or they can disappoint by looking good yet lacking substance.

Throughout my career I’ve interviewed a lot of candidates, as well as helped students and others with their job searches – I have seen my share of resumes.   Resumes on different kinds of paper, with all sorts of fonts and creative interpretations designed to make them stand out in the crowd.  One memorable resume was a on a DVD – talk about making me work for the information.

I imagine most hiring managers appreciate efforts by candidates to be unique.  Believe me when I say that I’m right there with you in wanting to separate myself from the pack during the recruitment process.

The truth is it’s the content of the resume that’s important.  Just like a Christmas gift, the fanciest wrapping doesn’t always yield the best present.

Make sure your resume really tells your story.  Sometimes this is the only piece of information a hiring manager sees in determining whether or not to interview a candidate.

I know; it’s hard to write about yourself but you have to try.  Ask a trusted friend or two to review your resume and edit it.  I’ve done this before and have received great feedback.  Sometimes we are too close to the subject to have an objective view.

There are also certified professional resume writers who do this for a living.  Yes, you’ll have to spend some money, although it’s worth the price if it means finding your next opportunity.

Worst thing you can do is limp along with a poor resume.  I’ve seen some doozies over the years.  Misspelled words, date errors, including way too much information or irrelevant information, information that indicates age or even includes skills that may be outdated – and those are not the worst errors.

The resumes that are most difficult to understand are the ones that fail to tell me succinctly who you are, what type of work you are looking for and why you are successful.  A good resume helps me understand why you could help solve my problems and intrigues me enough to schedule an interview.

Remember, the resume provides a snapshot of your personal brand to the hiring manager.  While a resume alone won’t get you a job, it may open the door for an interview where you can shine in person.

Your resume can still look good. Just make sure the content lives up to the wrapping.