Someone recently told me that when he wants something done, he takes it to a perfectionist. He figures that a perfectionist will give him something....perfect. He�s wrong. He�d do better to find a good cost-accountant. Cost-accountants have a little voice in their heads that says, �I�ll do this just as well as it is worth.� It gives them an advantage. Hiring them is a good move�as long as you are careful to make the job worthwhile.

Unlike perfectionists, cost-accountants usually know exactly what any project is worth. The good ones rarely miscalculate. Perfectionists either devote equal effort to every project on the list or miss doing the last three things because they ran out of time. Cost-accountants set priorities. They see the big picture. Unless they miscalculate, what�s most important gets the most attention. Getting something out fast and well requires deciding how to balance fast against well. Otherwise, well becomes the de facto priority and missing a mandatory deadline becomes a possibility.

Because perfectionists can�t do things part way, their jobs either go largely undone or take hours. Dash off a paper? What does that mean? To a perfectionist, it makes sense to spend hours on a paper for health class in which you are getting an A and then be so burned out that you either can�t or won�t finish the sheets for the class you hate and in which your grade is not so stellar. Why bother with that class? Even with extra effort your grade won�t be stellar.

Even when deadlines aren�t a problem, being a cost-accountant can be a real advantage. Cost-accountants make better parents. People who don�t need perfection find it easier to make room for other people�s mistakes. They can tolerate the mess as their children try to clean the room or learn to cut with a knife. They spend less time setting up perfect pictures for the bat mitzvah and more time enjoying the moment. Who remembers the centerpieces at a wedding? People are more likely to remember the warmth of the atmosphere.

In other words, perfectionists are not perfect. They are not even capable of being perfect, which will come as a shock to their system. Forget the folks who believe that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing very well. Some tasks beg to be done poorly such as laundry and cleaning. You need someone who will give them the attention they deserve. You need someone like me although I�m already taken�by Mr. Philately who would prefer to think he�s perfect but instead is good enough. And that�s good enough for me.

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