Finding GEMO: Good Enough, Move On
Are you ready to grab GEMO and go with it?
This September, I have accelerated my accomplishments on a lot of projects and new initatives because I found GEMO.
GEMO is an acronym for Good Enough, Move On. It helps avoid perfectionism, dithering, delays, and other productivity traps and snarls.
Here is how you practice it. You work at something, you begin to run out of steam or you know more needs to be done but there are other projects and things that need to be done so you say, GEMO. You move on and you know you can come back to it and improve it later.
It can also be very helpful to GEMO with partners to avoid becoming bogged down in a task or engaging in discussions that produce no results.
GEMO is not used to avoid work but to recognize there is always something more that could be done in this age of constant and never ending improvement. Yet, sometimes good, is good enough…at least for now.
I first practiced this principle in the writing process 25 years ago under the term satisfice:
To obtain an outcome that is good enough. Satisficing action can be contrasted with maximizing action, which seeks the biggest, or with optimizing action, which seeks the best. In recent decades doubts have arisen about the view that in all rational decision-making the agent seeks the best result. Instead, it is argued, it is often rational to seek to satisfice i.e. to get a good result that is good enough although not necessarily the best.
Satisficing was a good approach for writers to avoid perfectionism and to finish the first draft. It was very helpful for writers who experienced writing blocks or writing reluctance to get the first vision out and realize they can return for multiple re-visions.
You must be cautious with GEMO - you are not avoiding something rather you acknowledge it is good enough for now.
GEMO may be just what you need to increase your productivity.
I hope you find GEMO
This article could be better but it is good enough —time to move on.
If you like humor and you want to see the lighter side of leadership I encourge you to read David Zinger’s alter ego Dr. Z. at Dr. Z’s Leaderhsip Institutue. David Zinger loves working with Phil Gerbyshak at Slacker Manger. We make for an synergistic blend of GEMO and the GREAT.
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POSTED IN: gtd, management, principles, productivity, tips and tricks, work life
7 opinions for Finding GEMO: Good Enough, Move On
Dean Fuhrman
Sep 13, 2007 at 6:38 am
David -
We had a discussion in our office not long ago about our having reached a point in our way of doing things that we stopped at “just good enough.” This was not thought to be a good thing because our standard of excellence had slipped. The underlying thought was that everything required meticulous attention and that we had fallen off our game. The unarticulated, but generally understood principle underlying this whole discussion was this: we must do everything we do exceptionally well, very precisely lest we fall off our game and spiral down into the void. Two things about this unarticulated principle: (1) everyone applies the standard in a different way because it is never really talked about openly and as a result the standard is applied person by person, even by the principle’s most ardent supporters and (2) it is impossible in today’s very fast moving world to achieve this standard even if it were well defined and understood … there is too much to be that precise about.
GEMO is a good principle because it can cut through the futzing around with stuff that is unnecessary but there ought to be some discussion about what the performance standard (or expectations) should be. In a previous life when I was in a professional service firm we used what I will call the coffee standard:
⁃ Do you just want a cup of instant coffee ... a quick and dirty solution?
⁃ Do you want a fresh brewed cup of off the grocery shelf coffee ... nothing fancy but let's get it done well?
⁃ Do you want a gourmet cup of the finest coffee brewed meticulously ... spare no resource, this has to be done to perfection?
This really went a long ways to getting expectations clarified and was easy to understand.
Thanks for the post. Thought provoking and enjoyable as always.
David Zinger
Sep 13, 2007 at 7:17 am
Dean,
I sit drinking my coffee (good quality by the way) and really appreciate the coffee metaphor and the time you took to respond to the post. GEMO can be so helpful yet there is also the performance standard, quite a balancing act.
David
Rolf F. Katzenberger
Sep 14, 2007 at 2:08 am
David,
good concept, also when preparing for something (avoids Analysis Paralysis). Maybe MO it’s a bit too snappy, sometimes. It rather needs to be an “iterate”, from time to time.
Rolf
David Zinger
Sep 14, 2007 at 4:15 am
Rolf
I could now say MO instead of GEMO but yes I think the more precise term for me is a number of iterations. Maybe Iwill have to play with that word as I find I can remember snappy terms.
David
Craig Huggart
Sep 15, 2007 at 11:52 am
David
Great post. As a reformed perfectionist, I couldn’t agree more.
I think that you need to pick your battles and only strive for perfection in a few key areas.
Craig
David Zinger
Sep 15, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Craig,
Way to reform. I strive for excellence but leave perfection for people with nothing but time on their hands.
David
Phil Gerbyshak
Sep 15, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Well done David. I think you DEFINITELY found GEMO with this post. Great reminder for us all!