Effort
Insufficient effort creates work that’s wasted. If you do a slapdash job, then the roof leaks, the food is inedible, the car doesn’t start. Insufficient effort is a shortcut that wasn’t worth taking.
Sufficient effort is the goal of the industrial capitalist. Capture the most value with the least work. Build a house that doesn’t fall down, with components that last exactly long enough to avoid a claim. Explain that due to unusually call volume…
And then, perhaps, there’s a third option.
Expending more effort than most people think is sufficient.
This is attention to detail. Care in design. Follow through in customer service. This is an embrace of elegance and wabisabi and the opposite of laziness. This is bringing care (which is rare and precious) to work even if most people would look for a shortcut instead.
More effort creates beauty and magic and remarkability.
Perfectionism is a false hope and a place to hide.
Effort, on the other hand, is our best chance to do work that matters.