Good enough is good enough

Last week my doctor prescribed a couple of MRIs, for which he referred me to his hospital's radiology department.

I got the appointment scheduled and then asked for an estimate of costs. (For my own good reasons, I'm a self-paying patient in almost every case, so I usually count the cost pretty early in the process.)

The estimate came in at $11,000. You and I can sit down over a beer some time and lament the state of healthcare pricing, but I'll spare you the rant.

For now, I'll just say that I reached out to a local imaging center I've used before, and found that they can take exactly the same images for $1100.

Yes. That’s a 90% difference.

So of course, I re-scheduled with them.

But you might be wondering:

Why would the hospital charge so much for essentially the same job?

The answer is:

This hospital has the best imaging equipment in the entire area. They can do things nobody else can do. Their machines can scan at much higher resolutions than the place I'll be going.

But I checked with my doctor.

My situation doesn't require the super high resolution imaging. He doesn't need it, and won't be using it for me.

Polaroid quality is good enough.

But then you might ask:

Allen, wouldn't you want nothing but the very best when it comes to your own health?

It depends on what we mean by "the very best."

Whether it's my own health, or the success of my business, or the home that I live in, or the tools I use at work, the "best" choice is the one that gets the job done in the way I need (or want) and doesn't soak up too much of my time, attention, or funds.

After all, there are plenty of better things I can do with $10,000 than pay for high-resolution images that my doctor doesn’t even want.

Here's the thing:

Your systems, I might guess, are not perfect. Nor are your staff. Your board members, any new program you might roll out, your software tools — none of them are perfect.

You could, if you wanted, spend a lot of time, money, and mental anguish trying to make them so.

But the truth is: Good enough really is good enough.

Are you thinking of making measured improvements, for the sake of a well articulated and clearly valued goal? Go for it!

But are you tempted to use up your time, attention, and other resources wrestling with little imperfections? Maybe think again. Is it really worth it?

All the best,
A.