Do it right or explain why it’s wrong

When you’re working on something, you have two choices: do it right, or take time later to explain why it was done incorrectly. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said:

It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.

This came to mind when reading a recent post from Kevin Paul Scott, where he explained why that might be easier said than done:

We’d all like things to move faster. You want the builder to complete the house, the person fixing the appliance to finish it quickly, and the individual taking your order to get it out faster.

Of course, he followed that up with:

At the same time, you don’t want the builder to cut corners, you want the appliance repaired correctly, and you want to get the food you ordered.

It can be a tough balance between “fast” and “good”, and it’s worth evaluating your process to find the right mix. I’ve mentioned before that we pride ourselves on being slow and nimble, but that’s not the right answer for everyone. If you want to cut some corners to gain speed, though, be prepared to explain why you did it that way.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on July 25, 2021.