Hi, John.
Ancient Chinese secret..../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
I had to have it explained to me, too, then I decided I liked it. It means something like...the only true enemy of the "good" is the "best", and the "good" things (people/tractors/athletes/parents/kids/teachers etc.) in life are often overlooked, overshadowed, and undeservedly maligned or devalued by the best and fanatic followers of the best. The second half of the statement has to do with setting realistic expectations for, or offering realistic advice to, the people and things around you. By setting expectations of perfection a person is esablishing the high--almost certain--probability of failure because such advice or standards are hard to follow.
A quick baseball analogy comes to mind when I look at Barry Bonds as the "best" and the Anaheim Angels as a team of "good" players. Critics of the statement would call it a philosophy of mediocrity but in my life I would prefer to do most things very well, or good, rather than one or two thing perfectly. As you know, Barry doesn't have much regard for anyone but himself, including the "good" players on the Giants team. I think he's still trying to figure out why HE didn't win the World Series this year. After all, he IS the "best" and the loss most certainly was not HIS fault but the fault of the other Giants players, even the good ones.
It's really a more appropriate personal, sports (golf /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif), or parenting philosophy than an industrial philosophy. I'm actually a big fan of the sic sigma, ISO, and Baldridge movement in industry. I do think the philosophy has some merit in the early stages of adoption of quality systems in industry. Let's say a company sets a goal of 99.9999% zero defects in production and only reaches 98%. A failure? No, as long as 98% represents a movement in the right direction. Too often companies/people fail to set tactical or interim goals on the road to near-perfection. Many quality programs fail due only to a sense of failure among stakeholders, even though progress is made.
Uh-oh...I hope I/we didn't start another one of those protracted "quality" discussions. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
Regards,
