On Having High Standards

Many of you readers and also podcast guests have shared with me, that imposter syndrome as well as perfectionism (and the high personal standards that come with it) are still some of the most pervasive emotional baggage for us marketers.

So when I read the following quote from architect Christopher Alexander, it got me thinking about what positive sides there could be to having high standards:

"In my life as an architect, I find that the single thing which inhibits young professionals, new students most severely, is their acceptance of standards that are too low. If I ask a student whether her design is as good as Chartres, she often smiles tolerantly at me as if to say, “Of course not, that isn’t what I am trying to do. ... I could never do that.”

Then, I express my disagreement, and tell her: “That standard must be our standard. If you are going to be a builder, no other standard is worthwhile. That is what I expect of myself in my own buildings, and it is what I expect of my students.”

Gradually, I show the students that they have a right to ask this of themselves, and must ask this of themselves. Once that level of standard is in their minds, they will be able to figure out, for themselves, how to do better, how to make something that is as profound as that.

Two things emanate from this changed standard. First, the work becomes more fun. It is deeper, it never gets tiresome or boring, because one can never really attain this standard. One’s work becomes a lifelong work, and one keeps trying and trying. So it becomes very fulfilling, to live in the light of a goal like this.

But secondly, it does change what people are trying to do. It takes away from them the everyday, lower-level aspiration that is purely technical in nature, (and which we have come to accept) and replaces it with something deep, which will make a real difference to all of us that inhabit the earth."

So can we have high standards without drowning?

A lot of what we read and hear today is that we should not put too much pressure on ourselves and that perfectionism is bad for us and that we should not compare ourselves to people who have done great things, because that'll just discourage us from ever getting started.

And I agree with a lot of that...but also:

We should allow ourselves to set high standards. We should allow ourselves to dream. Allow ourselves to indulge in lofty goals.

Because where else should we draw inspiration from, if not from the greats? Who should teach us about what's possible if not the ones that have outdone themselves?

This is not about attaining perfection, but about fueling the inner fire of curiosity and pride in honing our crafts. About improving upon our body of work with every text we write, presentation we give, company we build or client we serve.

But high standards should not also hinder us not to try.

Because every time we miss the mark, shouldn’t high standards be here to motivate us to learn and improve (if even just 1%) next time around?

High standards are here to show us that there is still work to do, things to try out and new depths to be discovered. And not to put ourselves down, because we didn’t reach perfection.

Don’t we rather have high standards and know we might never attain them fully, then being content with mediocre work where we know exactly we didn’t give it our all?