VickramBahl.com
The Perfectionist
A perfectionist is generally
described as a person who is a stickler for details; to him the small details
are as important as the larger picture. He lives his life scanning
everything; analysing and benchmarking his findings against his rigid imaginary
scale that he has built up over the years. A true perfectionist is driven by
compulsion to achieve the best and expect the best from others;
anything less would amount to cheating.
This breed of finicky people has
made a marked difference to the progress of the human race. Our progress, in
terms of inventions that have improved the quality of life, has been more in
the past 100 years than in the preceding 1000 years. In my view this has
been possible because of two major reasons – the collective building of
ideas across the globe achieved by better communications and the pursuit of
perfection. Take the examples of Japan and Germany; they were devastated
after the war. One of the biggest contributors to their rise has been these
countries pursuit of perfection to the point that it became a national
culture. The citizens of these countries built their economies and quality
of life by setting and achieving high standards collectively.
I believe that we are not born
perfectionists. Each one of us has a perception of what perfection
encompasses and this perception is based upon the environment that we have
grown in and the conditioning that we receive over the years.
But being a perfectionist is a long
and lonely ride and the survival kit is humour. We must accept that
imperfection is a part of our system and weeding it out does not necessarily
mean cultivating ulcers. Perhaps by consequence, or coincidence, the
Japanese have a very high incidence of stomach ailments. A Japanese friend
asked me if I knew how to recognise a perfectionist. I offered a few
explanations but he explained that the sign of a practising perfectionist is
usually stomach ulcers and if you want to be sure he does not have them for
his gastronomic pursuits, then just make a mistake and offer the famous
excuse ‘nobody is perfect’. A true perfectionist should have an
ulcer-induced flinch immediately.
Unfortunately,
in India we have a
very high tolerance towards poor quality. We are embarrassed to demand
quality or set new standards. Perhaps we fear that
we may be labelled as
fusspots. However, cultivating perfection
can be very rewarding.
The fact that the Oberoi group of hotels is regarded
among the best is because the top man, Mr. Biki Oberoi, is know to be a
perfectionist with a short fuse – for him nothing but the best will do and
he has built that culture into the group.
On a trip to Bhutan I was
amazed when the check-in staff at Paro airport asked me to stand on the
scales along with my checked luggage. I asked them the logic behind such a
preposterous request. I was informed that the performance of the aircraft at
this high altitude was affected due to rare air and made every kilo
important, so in order for the captain of the aircraft to have the exact
all-up weight they weighed the passengers and all the luggage. The
explanation was a satisfactory one for me as I have been a hobby pilot and
understood the load factor at a hot and high airport, but what about the
other passengers ? I waited and watched them being weighed. When the
check-girl repeated her request I saw some jaws drop a few inches while
others grew dark with rage. Surprisingly, no one complained after a
complete explanation by the ground staff. It felt a lot safer travelling
with a pilot who knew every detail of his aircraft and was not embarrassed
to go to any length to ensure safety. I was even happier because the pilot
was my batch-mate from flying school.
To achieve perfection one has to work harder and longer irrespective of one’s ability. Everything comes at a price. When nature gave us the wonderful gift of speech, it also made man more prone to choking, but we would all agree that the advantage of speech far outweighs the increased risk of choking. Therefore, for a perfectionist it is acceptable to wear out but never to rust out.
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS : A college time experience that has stayed with me and I share with you.
SEEING IS BELIEVING ? : An experiment on how the journalist can stretch the imagination of his audience, augmented with photos.
WILL WE EVER LEARN TO CO-EXIST ? : A question we all need to ask ourselves. The answer ? Well, read on...
CONFLICT IN THE TWILIGHT : When has war ever been fair just or necessary?
THE PERFECTIONIST : A club so exclusive that one may be the only member present most of the time !
