I’m all for pushing the limits. In fact, much to my own detriment, I probably do it way more than I should. Whether it’s running a 100km trail race, or trying to stick the names of 6,000 people on a tram for FruChocs, I’m all for pushing what’s possible.
But in recent times, I’ve also been consulting with a few different companies who have an idea of how they’d like things to be in a perfect world. The only problem with this is we live on Planet Earth, not Planet Perfect. So I’m constantly having to balance out ‘perfect’ with ‘possible’.
Please know, I’m not talking about being lazy or unnecessarily compromising on quality. I am talking about sometimes, when it’s necessary, taking actions that are less than perfect, purely because they’re possible. As the old saying goes, ‘Perfect is the enemy of done’ and sometimes it’s better to get stuff done, and make shit happen, rather than plan perfect forever and never actually getting any runs on the board.
I know this may not necessarily be a particularly popular opinion with all those perfectionists out there, and others might think I’m just Captain Bloody Obvious for pointing this out, but whether you’re launching into the market with a Minimum Viable Product, (not perfect, but possible), or simply producing a piece of work that would be better in a perfect world, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
I also know this may seem like it would be self evident to everyone, but I can assure you, I frequently see people paralyzed by the inability to be perfect, and while you need to be careful to not do something so woeful you stuff up your brand or business, I’m all for just getting the job done and getting results as best you can.
That doesn’t mean you can’t constantly try and improve or even fix the imperfect things you’ve done, in fact, you absolutely should – just ask Microsoft, or dare I say it, even Apple who are constantly releasing fixes for their perpetually imperfect products. When all else fails, and when action is required, don’t be afraid to employ that trusty old strategy: Ready, Fire, Aim!
Sputnik
(Originally posted on MADtown.)
