Is Perfection Stopping You?

here’s an Old Italian proverb that says, “Best is the enemy of Good.” In other words, you try so hard to be perfect that you never even achieve “good.”

I’ve met a lot of small business owners that require every aspect of their business to be exact. Sound familiar? It might materialize in projects that are discussed ad nauseam, but they never get off the ground. Or, as written documents reviewed over and over again, never leaving your desk or implemented. In other words, perfection-based behavior that makes it difficult to make decisions and move on.

If that sounds like you, there’s trouble brewing.

The Pareto principle or 80–20 Rule reveals that it typically takes 20% of your time to complete 80% of a task while completing the last 20% takes 80% of the effort. Achieving absolute perfection is likely impossible. So taking more time and increasing your efforts only brings diminishing returns.

The pressure is also likely to exhaust your team and slow any growth you’re trying to achieve.

Is there a task I’m working on that could be moved forward, faster? This week, make the decision not to let perfectionism get in your way and let “good enough” allow you to move forward. You will be amazed at the results!