For Best Results, Don't Do Your Best

 I learn from the front page of today's Daily Star that 'boffins' have established the apparently counterintuitive (not a word that features in the Daily Star report) truth that the secret of success is 'never give more than 85 per cent'. 'Boffins,' the Star assures us, 'are 100 per cent sure they've got this right.' Very good. As someone who has rarely, if ever, given 100 per cent, I like the sound of this no doubt thoroughly scientific research. From a minimal online trawl I learn that the '85 per cent rule' is in fact already well known in management circles, where it is employed to prevent burnout (though I fancy news of it has yet to reach the executive arm of the Daily Mail). There's a piece about it here which chimes pretty well with my own life experience of giving less than 100 per cent...
Now that the 'boffins' have done their work, I look forward to hearing a post-match football manager assuring us that his team 'gave it 85 per cent' or a panting athlete that he or she 'gave it 85 per cent'. It would make such a nice change from the frankly impossible '110 per cent', but I fear it will never happen.