Credibility Taken Too Far

Continuing with the last week’s topic of credibility I would like to give an example of a time someone I knew took taking credibility too far.

One person I can easily recall who took credibility to the point of excess I will call Paul (name changed to protect the innocent). Paul demonstrated the excess of development to vanity.

I was the owner of an office much like someone who owns a McDonald's. Owners of McDonald’s own the store, but sell McDonald’s products. I had been very prosperous doing this and Paul wanted to do the same. I helped him establish his office by putting him in contact with the appropriate people, and answering his questions on what I did  to become successful.

Paul was very focused on starting his office the proper way, and this served him well. He established the processes needed to succeed, and succeed he did. His office became profitable quickly, and he was very happy and easy going.

After a few short months, I could see he was changing as a person. Paul became obsessed with being perfect for what he did. A great person once said (Mahon, L.) “Many of us think that perfectionism is a good thing as we always strive to do our best - right?” I agree in this statement. I believe anyone who has ever been successful has had the drive to perfection to some degree.

Paul’s drive for perfectionism had its downside. “He was never satisfied with his performance, or the performance of others ( (Mahon, L.). Each month Paul was always looking for ways to outperform his previous month’s results. This is not a bad in itself but Paul’s approach was detrimental.

At the time, Paul was running his business out of his home. This was not unusual, but he took it to be excess. He began to work longer, and longer hours at home. Paul took less free time. He had a wide social network, so he would go out a lot. Again, this is not a bad thing. Balance in life is very important but Paul partied too much. Paul attempted to be the perfect friend, and not let the number of hours he was working interfere with his socialization. He was becoming spread thin.

Paul never showed humility. He was more concerned with his external appearance then he was his internal well-being. Paul began to get stressed about the smallest details. A quote by A. Maslow is “If the only tool you have is a hammer; you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Paul took this approach, and attacked every issue that he encountered. He expected perfection out of his business partners, and when this did not happen, he became more overwhelmed.

The results of Paul’s excess were a mental breakdown that caused him to be unproductive for three months. He never shaved, looked like hell, never went out, and gained weight. Paul was engaged to get married, and this almost caused him to lose his fiancé.

The moral of this post is sometimes when a person is involved in their work they might not be able to see beyond a to-do list. They probably are working to build credibility even though they do not call it that.

Relax, take breaks, and look at your work and social life. Everything worked out in the end, but it took Paul several months to regain his focus, and to understand what happened. He kept his office, fiancé, and he went on to be very successful. Looking back on those times taught him (and me) a lot. Paul recovered but many people never do.