“Good enough never is.” That was the phrase coined by Debbi Fields (founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies) on a surprise visit to one of her early stores.“You’re better than this”.That was the phrase said by my father regarding a Middle School project of mine which he could tell I had not given my best effort.Both phrases are ingrained in my consciousness and define my attitude towards “work ethic”.
I am not the author of the “Good Enough Never Is” portion of this article. I found this story online years ago and I would like to credit the author, but I cannot seem to find the original version.However, the “You’re Better Than This” story of my father and I is mine.For me, both stories are powerful lessons regarding “doing, and accepting, less than that of which you are capable”.Something neither Debbi nor my father would accept.
“Good enough never is”, says Fields. “Set your standards so high that even the flaws are considered excellent.” Fields coined that phrase on a visit to one of her early stores. It was a surprise visit that none of the staff had been prepared for. Fields walked into the store to see a long line of customers waiting to purchase a huge batch of cookies that she immediately knew had been over baked. Fields was upset; she did not want those cookies to be sold, or for those customers to associate her name with over baked cookies. After all, Fields took great pride in her recipes. But, instead of blaming the staff at that store, Fields turned the focus back on herself. “Maybe I had not taught the manger everything he needed to know to make the best cookies in the world”, she says.
With that, Fields approached the manager to figure out what was going on. “What do you think of these cookies?” Fields asked him. “He responded by saying, ‘Oh, Debbi, they’re good enough.” Fields was upset and immediately threw out all of the cookies. “Good enough?!” she said. “Good enough never is.”
Fields now had a long line of hungry customers waiting to buy cookies that had just been tossed in the garbage. She went over to them and explained, one by one, what had happened.
"We’ve over baked these cookies,” she said, “and I want them to be perfect and whatever you are standing in line for, I will absolutely give them to you free plus I’ll match for free if you will come back.”
But why was Fields such a perfectionist when it came to her cookies? Why was she so adamant that her cookies were the best they could be? Fields knew that she was up against some fierce competition. “There is always competition,” says Fields. “Whatever you do, there will be competition, and you have to decide how you’re going to play. For me, I had to be the very best.”
Fields knew that if her cookies were not the best, she might as well have stopped then and there, followed her parents’ advice, and given up. But that was something she was not prepared to do. Fields made sure her cookies were fresh by implementing a two-hour sell time. After that, they became “cookie orphans” that were given away to charity. She also packed them as full as they could be with her secret ingredients. “I added so many chocolate chips to the batter that I knew I had added enough when they would no longer fit in,” she says. “I had achieved chocolate nirvana. The same thing was true of butter. I took the product and added so much butter, to the point where the cookies started to spread out like pancakes.”
Had she taken it too far? Perhaps, but if she had not, somebody else would have. “You’ve got to strive to be the best in whatever you do,” says Fields.
“This is garbage; you’re better than this.” That was actually the full phrase, as I remember it, from my father. :)
The work ethic of “always doing the best of which YOU are capable, regardless of what others are doing” was seared into my mind from an event during my Middle School years.I had been working on a school project over a weekend and my father (who, by the way, was a school Principal) had asked me about it before I started.I had a firm grasp of the knowledge and he was sure I would do an excellent job on the project.But because I had a firm grasp of the knowledge, I was able to complete the project with just "sub-average" effort and get on to what I really wanted to do as a 13yr old (play outside, watch TV, etc).
When I got the paper back, I had earned a “B” (which was a better grade than most of my classmates for this difficult project).Later in the week my father excitedly asked to see my graded project. I’m sure he was expecting to see my best work and was ready to praise my efforts. Instead, he read thru the paper and said, “This is garbage; you’re better than this. You’re doing the paper over and turning it in again.”My 13yr old self quickly pleaded back, “but the grade is already input…..I can’t get a new grade by doing it over and turning it in again.”To which my father replied, “oh, you’re not turning it in to your teacher……you’re turning it in to me.” Uh-oh.
I have absolutely no recollection of what subject that project was or what knowledge I was supposed to learn. But I DO remember the lesson I did learn from the experience. The lesson seared into my brain was that I had to always “take personal pride in my work and do the best of which I was capable, regardless of what others did.” In other words, “good enough never is; you’re better than this.”
Fast-forward 25 years from my Middle School story; I’m now in graduate school at Pepperdine working on an MBA.“Shawn, we’re done…our project is already twice as good as any of the projects of the other groups…why are you still working on it? It’s good enough!”That was the exasperated plea from my group partner as I was on the 10th hour of edits/refinements to our group project that the other groups in our class probably spent the professor-recommended 2-3 hours.I answered, “because it is not yet as good as I can do and I cannot stomach submitting work that is anything less than the best of my abilities.”
What was the result of this work ethic?I graduated from Pepperdine with an MBA, Beta Gamma Sigma (business schools' academic honor society) lifetime membership, and the highest GPA in my class (3.87).Through the process I grew tremendously, both professionally and personally, and made significant positive impacts on our family business.In other words, “good enough never is; you’re better than this”.
Skip ahead another 4 years.“Shawn, how would you like to teach in the MBA program?”That was the phone call from my former professor who, after I graduated, had been promoted to the Department Chair and was now offering me a position to teach a graduate business class in her department. It’s just teaching 1 MBA class for now, but I still get the faculty title “Adjunct Professor of Business”. :)
Why did my old professor think to call me? I do not believe I was the smartest student in my MBA program. However, I do believe that I was the most persistent and worked the hardest. This graduate course ("family business" strategy) is something that I have over 20 years of experience with, but I believe my work ethic is "why" she called me. I was in the Pepperdine MBA program to better myself and gain as much knowledge as I could, not just gain the 3 letters (MBA) after my name. Maybe that left an impression on my former professor? Maybe all that extra effort I put in as a student, that most perceived as "excessive" and "overkill", was exactly what made me memorable and stand-out? In other words, “good enough never is; you’re better than this”.
The results of your efforts are not always immediate. This lesson of “persistence and always doing the best of which you are capable” is one I now try to instill in my own sons. Lessons you teach them in Middle School might just be a major key to their success the rest of their lives.
Thanks Dad.
