Ethical dilemma #024

Your report is ready, but you want to improve the charts. Would you submit it today?

The report is complete and reviewed, but you dislike how some charts look. The deadline is today, and someone else needs your report to continue.

Related reflectionThe Pursuit of Perfection Can Make Us Less Happy

What would you do in this situation?

Choose an answer before continuing.

Choose an answer before continuing.

Your report is ready, but you want to improve the charts. Would you submit it today?

The context

You have spent three weeks preparing a report for your team. The data has been checked, the conclusions are clear, and your coworker has already reviewed it. Even so, you want to change some colors and redo two charts to make them look better.

The deadline is six today. Someone else needs your report to prepare a presentation tomorrow. You can submit the current version, ask for another day, or send the finished content and offer a visual improvement later. You struggle to submit something that does not feel perfect, but the remaining changes would not alter the data. Asking for more time would produce a version you like better, while leaving your coworker less time to do her work.

A perspective to continue

A visual detail and an incorrect data point do not carry the same weight. What needs to be right before submission, and what can improve without holding others up?