SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 40
PERSPECTIVES
Steven Rodgers
SAMPE Past President and
Consultant, EmergenTek LLC
Steven.R@EmergenTek.com
The Relentless Pursuit Of Perfection - A Quixotic Look At The New Year
"Look always forward; in last year's nest there are no birds this year."
- Don Quixote in the play Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman
We have just passed through the end of the old year with all of its rituals and traditions. We have reviewed the
events of the year. In moments of introspection we may have tried to put those events into some kind of historical
perspective, whether personal or global. Most likely we have reconnected with old friends and reflected on our
shared experiences from the past. And in all of that, it is inevitable that we should give some thought to what the
New Year may bring. It should come as no surprise to regular readers of this column that I appreciate a well-crafted
phrase. As we look forward to the New Year I want to take a glance back at an advertising tagline from the past
because I think it frames our profession's mindset nicely. I have purposely chosen the tagline I want to highlight as
part of the title of this article:
The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
I would like to pursue our observations in the same way a great chef might pursue a classic recipe: By deconstructing
the phrase and building it back up with fresh insight. In this case I want to start from the back of the phrase and
move forward.
Perfection
While this is the last word of the tagline, it is the overarching qualifier of its content. The word "perfection" is
uncompromisingly stringent. It comes from the Middle English word meaning "completeness". It describes a state of
something being free of any flaws or defects. True perfection is faultless. In fact, the word is so exacting that it can be
considered unachievable. Terms like, "almost perfect" or, "nearly perfect" are certainly not pejorative terms at their
core, but at the same time they are never quite as good as "perfect". Perfect is a special state of being. Perfection is
singular.
In matters of personal taste, what constitutes perfection can be judged subjectively, yet there is usually an
acknowledgement of an unmistakable level of excellence that is widely recognized and appreciated. Whether or not
Leonardo da Vinci picked the perfect palette of colors for the Mona Lisa can be debated, but his mastery as an artist
is never in dispute.
I bring this up because perfection is the end goal of every good engineer, regardless of the specific discipline.
Perfection is that nearly-Impossible Dream that drives us to continue making improvements and refinements when
others might declare the job to be "good enough". It is the simple, elegant solution to a problem. It is "thinking of
everything" in an effort to mitigate risk, make things more robust or facilitates function in a unique and useful way.
In fact, it is this quality among engineers that has contributed to the need for a whole class of jobs: Program
Managers. If there is a downside to engineers and their desire to achieve perfection is the fact that perfection by its
own definition is elusive. As a result, there is always one more improvement that can be made, one more tweak in
the design, one more little change. It is the Program Manager who must declare that there is a deadline that must be
enforced and that "good enough" may just have to be good enough. For now . . .
Pursuit
When perfection is the goal, it is something to be pursued even if it is not easily grasped. The word "pursuit" explicitly
states that the goal remains in front of you. You may gain ground. You may even catch up with perfection. But if
perfection is the goal, the pursuit is the effort that defines your activity.
40
SAMPE Journal, Volume 52, No. 1, January/February 2016
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016
Contents
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - Cover1
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - Cover2
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - Contents
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 2
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 3
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 4
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 5
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 6
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 7
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 8
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 9
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 11
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 14
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 18
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 19
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 20
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 21
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 24
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 27
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 28
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 30
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 34
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 35
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 36
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - 40
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SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - Cover3
SAMPE Journal - January/February 2016 - Cover4
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