Hey Friends,
Today we are going to touch on quality and quantity.
We often think of these ideas as opposites from one another — you can have one, but not both.
If I asked you one of the age-old questions — “quality OR quantity?” — which would you choose?
Most people will pick quality over quantity without hesitation.
But how is it that we create quality outcomes in our lives?
Ceramics Class
I first heard this story from one of my favorite authors — Austin Kleon.
A ceramics teacher started off a new class by separating her class into two groups.
“Group A” would make a pot every day. Their grade depended on the quantity of pots they produced at the end of the year.
“Group B” would focus all their efforts on making only one pot throughout the entire year. Their grade depended on the quality of that pot.
Her students agreed and made pots according to their respective groups.
At the end of the year, the pots from each group were compared to each another.
An interesting result came forth.
The pots of the highest quality, all came from “Group A” — the quantity group.
While the pots from “group B” lacked in comparison.
How could this have happened?
Fear of Quantity
Quantity is often intertwined with one topic — failure. The more you produce, the more often you will be wrong.
Thus, the fear of quality is more so the fear of failure.
For me, failure has always been challenging to overcome. I wanted to be perfect in everything I did, and this mindset kept me from trying new tasks. It is not until now, that I realized the fear of making a mistake is more crippling than actually making one.
Allow yourselves the gift of quantity, it will give you the freedom to make mistakes.
Reflection
Quantity alone is not enough, it must be followed by reflection.
Reflection can be as simple as identifying why your attempt did not produce the outcome you wanted. Then, allow yourself to try something new next time.
Without proper time to reflect, we are doomed to make the same mistakes.
Quantity AND Quality
Quality and quantity each have their own times when they should be favored.
Sometimes we need only quantity and sometimes we need only quality.
Sometimes we can use both.
The “law of averages” is highlighted in sales organizations. In the world of sales, it states that the more people you talk to, the more sales you will come across. Regardless of your skill as a sales professional.
This drives less experienced salespeople to talk to as many prospects as possible. Using quantity to make up for their lack of quality.
Eventually, they will get better, and be able to secure more sales by talking to fewer people.
Yet, even after becoming a pro, we shouldn’t surrender our outlook on quantity.
Rather, we should realize our ability to now produce a quantity of quality outcomes.
Get comfortable with quantity and your ability to use it. Understand when it is useful and when it is not. I will let you decide how it can be best used in your life.
Quality Pots
Circling back around to the ceramics class, let’s see why the outcomes were the way they were.
“Group B” — the quality group — focused on perfection. They were trying to produce something great without proper experience. They had no feedback from past attempts. This led them to make pots based on theory only.
“Group A” — The quantity group -- focused on repetition. They figured out what didn't work and learned from their mistakes. Improving their craft with every pot.
Use quantity to create quality.
Quote of the Week
“If you want to succeed, double your rate of failure” — Thomas Watson