Recently I was asked to cite support for details for essential outcomes for micro-credentials for stacks for a construct that would enable more efficient learning and growth. This was a system being built to disencumber and elucidate. When I was first tasked with this challenge, I worked from the citation, of course reading the detail, and sometimes working up and out to the essential outcomes and surrounding details. During this time, I was most interested in a quantity of citations, resulting in (at times) a more superficial, cursory glance at the overall connective why. The results were adequate. Who reads the citations anyway? Right?

I struggled with this. If the foundation is cheap and not deep, it will eventually crumble and weaken the structure. And if I am expected to speak with some authority, I had better go beyond Google and Wikipedia and I had better attain some small degree of proficiency enabling greater confidence. And from the beginning, I did utilize scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles from Google Scholar and ProQuest and Science Direct and ERIC and SAGE... So from the beginning I did speak with some authority, but my citations and descriptions seemed to me to be lacking… something.

More recently, working through 32 citations for 16 details for 5 essential outcomes for 1 particular micro-credential, I realized that it was not so much the work that was lacking; it was me. Though I was parroting authority, personally I was lacking the depth of understanding necessary for me to connect with… well… everything. I needed to work top down, not bottom up. So I began reading, and studying, information not always specifically relevant to the detail, but it ultimately led me to the detail, thus strengthening the foundation and stabilizing the entire construct. It also took longer.

…in some cases, much longer.

I was on a deadline.

Suddenly… (…it seemed suddenly), I was in trouble.

Looking back at the previous work, because I had cited authoritative authorities, my descriptive paragraphs were still solid; and useful; they served their purpose; but overall, some seemed more distant and detached and they did seem to lack some personal nuance and style; (not that there is a lot of nuance and style to be added to verbiage describing scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles supporting details for essential outcomes for micro-credentials for stacks for a construct that would enable more efficient learning and growth).

So knowing the previous work was solid, and any little bit of personal nuance and style would likely go largely unnoticed anyway, I settled into a routine of reading (more briefly with fewer tangents) from the top down and allowing the authorities to speak, all the while ensuring that I maintained a basic understanding of the essential connective why.

I no longer felt like I was wading in the kiddie pool, but I also certainly was not 300 yards offshore, in the Gulf of Mexico, alone, with no life vest; at night; surrounded by storm clouds.

It was okay, this acknowledgement of time constraints; none of us really have all the time in the world. But still, I am a big fan of depth; and challenge; at night; surrounded by storm clouds; thinking about sharks.

I have always felt it important to go into a task seeking nothing less than perfection, and though I believe that in this human form perfection is unattainable, it is not this consideration that should rein me in, but rather the specific constraints of the specific task. I believe this is an important, perhaps vital distinction.

To seek perfection is a process that begins with an assessment of where a particular task or grouping of tasks is at in the current moment. An aspect of this assessment that comes about naturally is an identification of those process ingredients that are not working at all and those that are not working well. Throughout this consideration, reality frequently dictates a continuation of the old process and a simultaneous reworking of various tasks to ultimately create a new process. This layering of effort adds (sometimes exponentially) to the demands and requirements of the job. And this is why some come into a new task asking, “how have we always done it” and they stay on this traditional, well-worn path that has been cleared and beaten back by predecessors. Improvement requires increased effort. Perfection requires incremental, never-ending improvement. In my life I have never come across a perfect process.

I have immensely enjoyed the learning that has accompanied the citation / detail / essential outcome / micro-credential / stack / construct process, but I did, (to a degree), lose my way. In seeking perfection, I cannot lose sight of the destination. No matter the platitudes about the journey, there must be a destination, (i.e. accomplishment), in order to advance. Once that destination is reached, I have found that if the results are improved, from predecessors following the beaten path, or from expectations, one might be allowed to wander a bit more on the way to the next prescribed destination; especially in the early stages of the journey. I must listen completely to the task and its caretakers to gauge the potential for productive wandering and to not become lost. Though I have found that if I am not allowed some freedom to wander, I eventually tend to wander off.

In addition to constraints determined by other custodians, I must also be aware of constraints I place upon myself. To seek perfection, I must find a balance between confidence and doubt; I must acknowledge and recognize personal shortcomings; I must realistically temper my perceived strengths; I must counter emotional hemorrhage.

Each task will have constraints. And each individual's idea of perfection will differ from another’s and will change with changing circumstance. This week I made a cheesecake. For me it was near perfection. I have been playing with cheesecake recipes for months. I have found that only 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of flour to 3 blocks of cream cheese, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of sugar and no flavor additions is very close to ideal; for me. Others may prefer 3 eggs and 3 tablespoons of flour, less cream cheese, and additional ingredients such as chocolate, or caramel, or peanut butter, or a fruit, or a combination. Though I can't imagine, others may prefer chocolate cake.

But even in this week's throes of cheesecake ecstasy, I still maintain that perfection is unattainable. I am confident that there remains potential to improve.

A best effort is only a best effort, so far.