The Good, Bad, and Great Work Taxonomy

Definition

All work falls into three distinct categories. Bad work is pointless and wasteful—doing it once is too many times. Good work is the productive, familiar, useful work you're trained to do well; it's necessary and often fulfilling, but comfortable and well-worn. Great work is meaningful to you, has impact, inspires and stretches you—it's the work that matters.

The book's central insight: this taxonomy is not about quality of execution but about meaningfulness and alignment with what you care about.

In the Book

Stanier introduces this framework by citing designer Milton Glaser's three categories, then develops how each functions in life and work. Bad work shows up as "bureaucracy, interminable meetings, outdated processes that waste everyone's time." Good work "blossoms from your training, education, and the path you've traveled"; it's both a source of comfort and the bread-and-butter that keeps organizations operating.

Great work creates "a place of both deep comfort and engagement—often you feel as if you're in the 'flow zone,' where time stands still"—but also contains uncertainty and discomfort because it involves risk. The book emphasizes that most people spend most of their time on good work, and that's not wrong; the goal is not zero bad work and all great work, but finding your right mix. Notably, the book warns that "Great Work decays"—what was once great, through mastery and repetition, eventually becomes comfortable good work.

Why It Matters

This framework reorients how you evaluate work. Instead of asking "Did I do this well?" or "Did I get recognized?", you ask "Was this meaningful to me?" This shifts evaluation from external measures (efficiency, praise, status) to internal measures (alignment with values, growth, impact). For organizations, it clarifies that good work is the operational foundation, but great work drives strategic innovation. For individuals, it creates permission to do some things at adequacy level and space to pursue what actually matters.