I learned a new acronym at the conference I attended a couple of days ago. Having grown up in an industry where acronyms are the gold standard, I was immediately enamored by it. I mean, really, who doesn’t love a good acronym?!
But of course, upon reflection, I realize that this acronym is not only useful in business life, but also in personal life as well. So what is this magical acronym? GEPO. And what the heck does that stand for? Good enough, push on.
Interesting concept, eh?
Of course I realize that there are times when “perfect” is the only thing that will do. Designing and building airplanes is one good example. Believe me when I tell you that there isn’t ANY GEPO there. All of us in the industry take a very dim view when airplanes fall out of the sky. Perfect is what matters.
But there are times where we all strive for perfect when, in reality, GEPO would be just fine. Think of the hours that “perfect” takes. Is it always worth the cost? Probably not. You could spend hours and hours honing the perfect policy, creating draft after draft document. And it is really any better than what you had at say, the second or third draft? Likely not. So yes, you may have the perfect policy, but at a cost that turns out to be prohibitive. Probably not the best way to spend your company’s money.
Or for your personal life….. You could spend hours and hours cleaning that one room or detailing your car. But aren’t there other things that you would rather be doing? This is perhaps a really good time to apply your GEPO policy. Yea, a perfectly cleaned room or immaculate car might feel pretty darned good. That is, until the kids get home and work their magic on your clean room. Or until the first rainstorm you have to drive through.
One final use….. In meetings. I learned in the conference that the GEPO phrase is a great way to keep meetings on track. Give your meeting attendees the permission to use the phrase, and you will magically see it being used to bring back those members that want to wander off into the minutiae of the topic.
So feel free to GEPO things along.
Cheers!
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Marci,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. The GEPO concept makes a lot of sense and could save us all tremendous time and aggravation, not to mention improve productivity and efficiency.
I can think of an example from a recent experience, non-work related. I just finished reading Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a book about the heights of the financial crisis in late 2008. The book is a page turner, but the editing is very sloppy. Obviously, the author and the publisher decided it was best to rush the book to market rather than take the time to make it copy perfect. As a reader that was gripped by the book, I agree with that decision.
Greetings Naras. First, let me say thank you for your comment. I'm glad that you enjoyed the post about GEPO.
ReplyDeleteAnd second, thank you for the insight on "Too Big to Fail". I've not yet read that book, but will definitely now add it to my reading list.
Regards,
Dr. J