ARE YOU DOING THE BAREST MINIMUM?

I was catching up on TV news this morning and the producers were having audio challenges with the guest. This got me thinking about why this often happens with our local media stations and you rarely find this in foreign ones. I’m not making a comparison, but I’m concerned about the little “foxes” that typically lead to these kinds of outcomes wherever you find them. I call it the concept of the barest minimum.

Barest minimum often refers to the most basic level of effort, resources, or standards needed to achieve a result. It’s about doing just enough to meet the requirements without extra effort or enhancement. This concept can apply to various contexts, such as work, projects, education, personal tasks, and even human character.

In practice, operating at the bare minimum might mean just showing up, meeting deadlines, fulfilling only the essential criteria, or providing the least amount of input needed to get by. While it can be a way to manage workload and avoid burnout, it often leads to missed opportunities for growth, improvement, and excellence.

Beyond these, four key areas come to mind when thinking of the impact of doing the barest minimum:

Quality: When you do just enough to get by, the quality of the work often suffers. Excellence usually requires attention to detail, thoroughness, and a commitment to high standards.

Innovation: Excellent outcomes often come from creativity and innovation, which require extra effort and thinking outside the box. The barest minimum approach typically doesn’t encourage this level of engagement.

Reputation: Consistently delivering only the bare minimum can impact your reputation. People may perceive you as someone who doesn’t strive for more, which can affect opportunities and trust.

Satisfaction: Personal satisfaction and pride in your work are often higher when you know you’ve put in your best effort. Personally, those days are when my sleep is sweetest. Just doing the minimum can lead to a lack of fulfilment and motivation.

Some of the perennial problems we see in society, ongoing concerns, and in individuals draw from people just responding to duty and never going above and beyond. However, progress and excellence in any shape and form require a certain commitment towards the extra, the marginal value, the higher proposition, and the granular perspective requiring deeper reflection and intent. This is the difference between what is acceptable today and what is desired tomorrow.

I invite you to think about ways you have normalised minimum effort and unknowingly acculturated mediocrity. An adjustment to thought and behaviour is all you will need to become that person of value and to produce excellent goods and services.

Think about it.