Be Different or be dead

January 2, 2012

3 great ways to avoid the perfection trap

Source: Unsplash

Everyone seeks perfection.

The perfect body. The perfect smile. The perfect manuscript. The product that destroys the competition and wins the hearts of people. The business plan that on paper maximizes the economic benefits to the organization.

Problem is, perfection doesn’t exist. It’s like pursuing ‘the impossible dream’. For some reason we drive on to get another 10% of what we think is perfection before taking action.

The consequences of chasing perfection are significant. We burn time. The return on the extra time spent is zero. And the results of the incremental effort are unnoticed in any event (50% extra time might produce something that can be noticed but it’s unlikely that anyone will notice the impact of spending another 10% on anything.)

But the real negative is that it keeps you from doing stuff.

Bre Pettis says it well:

Perfection is boring. And it keeps you from being done.

Seth Godin talks about the importance of shipping stuff. And that if you waited until is completed, you would never deliver anything.

Try these 3 things to avoid the perfection trap:

▪️ Force yourself to get stuff just about right. And then do it. The reality is, that anything more is a waste of time given the unpredictability of the world today. It is impossible for you to accurately account for the unknown so why bother? Get a 70% solution and ship it out the door.

▪️ Give yourself a deadline to finish your work. When your time runs out you’re done. STOP. Get it out the door. Get used to doing what you can in the time you have given yourself.

▪️ Track the results of your imperfection with your customers. Get feedback. Determine if they are ok with what you’ve done or not. Satisfy yourself that you are able to produce good work in less time. Tweak your work on the run.

In business there is no such thing as the right answer. It’s what people are prepared to accept.

Solutions to 6 decimal places have no role here. Round up or down and get on with it.

Ponder no longer.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 1.2.12 at 10:00 am by Roy Osing
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