Work as Though God Will Inspect It
Excellence Over Perfection: A Woman's Guide to Intentional Work and Stewardship
There is a difference between striving for perfection and striving for excellence.
Perfection suggests that we must somehow know everything before we begin. Excellence requires something much more practical—and, I believe, much more demanding: Do the very best you can with what you know today. When you learn something new tomorrow, use it.
Then do better.
For women building businesses, pursuing degrees, leading organizations, raising families, serving communities, or simply trying to become the women God has called us to be, that distinction matters.
We are going to make mistakes. We are going to discover better methods. We are going to look back at something we once considered excellent and realize that we now have the knowledge to improve it.
That is not failure.
That is growth.
The problem comes when we know better and continue doing less.
Excellence Should Be Intentional
I believe women should move through their work intentionally and strategically.
Intentionality asks, Why am I doing this?
Strategy asks, Is the way I am doing it actually moving me toward the result I am seeking?
Excellence asks another question:
Is this the best work I can produce with what has been entrusted to me today?
That question changes things.
It changes how you prepare for a meeting. It changes how you serve a customer. It changes how you study for a degree. It changes how you build a product, manage someone's money, answer an email, supervise an employee, or put your name on something that will enter the world.
Your name should mean something.
Your work should mean something.
And neither should depend upon whether someone is watching.
Your Client Doesn't Know What She Doesn't Know
This may be one of the greatest responsibilities of professional life.
The person paying you may not know enough about your profession to recognize whether you have given her your best.
Your customer may not know that there was a better ingredient.
Your client may not know that another method would have produced a stronger result.
Your employer may never discover that you skipped a step.
And sometimes, you could take the shortcut and still get paid.
But integrity begins where supervision ends.
If I possess knowledge that could allow me to serve someone better, then their lack of knowledge cannot become my permission to give them less.
That is especially important for women who are building something.
Revenue matters. Profit matters. Advancement matters. Recognition can open doors. But none of those things should become the ultimate standard by which we decide whether our work is worthy.
There must be a standard above the transaction.
Who Are You Really Working For?
For me, the answer comes from Scripture.
Colossians 3:23–24 teaches us to work wholeheartedly, as working for the Lord rather than merely for people.
That changes the identity of the person inspecting the work.
I am not ultimately working for a paycheck.
I am not ultimately working for a boss.
I am not even ultimately working for a client.
I am working for God.
And if God is the ultimate inspector of my work, then excellence becomes more than a professional aspiration.
It becomes stewardship.
What did I do with the ability I had?
What did I do with the information available to me?
Did I tell the truth?
Did I prepare?
Did I cut a corner because nobody would notice?
Did I continue learning?
When new knowledge showed me a better way, did I have enough humility to change?
Those questions reach far beyond business.
They reach into character.
Work as Though Today Is Your Last Day
There is something powerful about approaching today's work as though there may not be another opportunity to correct it tomorrow.
Not fearfully.
Purposefully.
If this were the last proposal bearing my name, what would I submit?
If this were the last customer I served, how would I treat her?
If this were the last lesson I taught, would I prepare differently?
If this were the last product I created, would I be comfortable placing my name on it?
If this were my last opportunity to demonstrate what I believe, would my work provide the evidence?
That standard does not require perfection.
It requires presence.
It requires discipline.
It requires integrity.
And sometimes, it requires saying, I don't know yet.
There is dignity in that sentence when it is followed by the determination to learn.
Tomorrow, Know More
I don't want women to become paralyzed waiting until they know everything.
We never will.
- Start with what you know.
- Study.
- Ask questions.
- Research.
- Listen.
- Build.
- Test.
- Learn.
- Correct.
Then take tomorrow's knowledge and make tomorrow's work better than today's.
Excellence is not a destination at which we finally announce, I have arrived.
It is a way of moving.
And when we understand our work as stewardship, excellence stops being about proving ourselves to other people.
We no longer need someone standing over our shoulder.
We already know Who is watching.
So whatever is in your hands today—your business, education, ministry, profession, family, idea, assignment, or dream—give it the very best of what you presently know.
Tomorrow, learn more.
Tomorrow, do better.
But today, work as though God will inspect it.
Because He will.
