Do It Right VS Do The Right Thing

Doing it right means doing a task in the right manner. If you are assigned to do a task it is essential that you do it right to avoid rework. It reflects on you as an individual on how you regard your work. It shows if you give your best when doing your work or if you do things haphazardly.

Doing it right also affects other people as it impacts on how other people especially those who depend on your work will be able to take on and continue with their work. If you did your work without doing it right and just get things done, then there is big possibility that the next person who will take on the work will have a hard time to continue or even do it again.

Doing the right things means doing the right tasks. You may be busy doing a lot of things but at the end of the day, it seems that you haven’t accomplished anything significant. It’s time to evaluate on where your time was spent with. It is essential that an individual works smartly. It is better to be a smart worker than a hard worker.

You may be working very hard but when it comes to the bottom line, you haven’t contributed anything significant to the organization. It is important that before you start with any task you stop and think first what is your objective, why are you doing the task? What will be the impact when you complete the task? It is more fulfilling to accomplish a task that has significance.

Doing it right and doing the right thing are not two sides of the same coin. They are not opposites. It doesn’t mean that if you do the right thing you cannot do it right or vice versa. Actually, both are essential for a successful career and a successful organization. It touches on different values like quality, integrity and excellence.

Quality is more of doing things right the first time to avoid rework and assure customer satisfaction. Integrity is doing things right and doing the right things even when no one is looking. It’s a personal choice on how you do your work whether people are looking or when you’re on your own. Excellence is being consistent when it comes to doing things right and doing the right things. It’s not a one-time big time that you only perform well on complex projects, but you also perform well on simple projects.

Doing things right and doing the right things require not just skills but also attitude. Positive work attitude is essential to have the discipline to accomplish the right things in the right manner. It takes practice and patience to master these two. But having the determination to start today is the first step towards mastery. Start doing things right and doing the right things today and for sure you will reap great success tomorrow as an individual and as part of a successful organization.