Strategy, Transformation

Progress Beats Perfection

We’ve all encountered the perfectionist in the workplace – always revising, re-doing, and re-tweaking their work until finally satisfying a ridiculously high (and yet subjective) bar. And we’ve all met the scrappy pragmatist who cobbles things together and quickly moves on to the next task. The perfectionist’s commitment to quality is oftentimes admirable, but their relentless pursuit of perfection often puts them behind the pragmatist in getting things done.

A culture of perfectionism is often a real problem. It stifles creativity and leads to a fear of making mistakes, both of which get in the way of innovation. Perfectionism drives builders away. Embracing a culture or expectation of perfection can lead to burnout and a decline in team spirit. Perfectionism is often guilty of slowing the work and wasting resources on things that don’t actually make a difference. 

For example, it is common for big tech companies to hire highly-paid ex-consultants with the expectation to solve thorny problems, only to have them spend hours beautifully formatting an executive document which could instead have been summarized in a 20-word email, or to spend a week creating a 50-page appendix on the off-chance that an executive asks a specific question.

Shifting your focus from achieving perfection to embracing progress unlocks a multitude of benefits. Pragmatism, when coupled with the freedom to take risk and make mistakes, allows companies to move from idea to execution quicker. A pragmatic mindset allows for agility and adaptation, and creates a culture of continuous learning within your organization. 

But to be fair, there are instances where a desire to be perfect is warranted. For example, a NASA engineer tasked with bringing astronauts safely back to earth absolutely needs to be perfect, because the consequences of failure could be disastrous. However, the stakes are a little different for an advertiser testing ad copy, who can be a lot more pragmatic as they learn what drives clicks to a website.

Almost all of the time, we are in the position of the Ads tester, not the NASA engineer. Concerning strategy, James Schoen, Co-Founder of Trumbug explains that “a good strategy is clear, concise, and easily understood by those who have to execute it. Even if it’s not the perfect direction, if everyone is aligned and working towards a common goal, you’re likely to be somewhat successful.” In James’ example, it is progress that makes the difference, despite the lack of perfection.

Here are some things we’ve learned to favor progress over perfection:

  • Ask “what happens if.” Instead of defaulting to perfect, ask yourself what happens if you don’t finish on time, what happens if your email has spelling errors, what happens if the colors, font size, etc. aren’t on brand? You’ll often realize that nothing serious will happen, showing you that you don’t need to be perfect.
  • Determine the “definition of done.” Identify the minimum viable product (or what are the bare minimum requirements) for each item you need to deliver before you start work. This will help you avoid feeling compelled to add a bunch of unnecessary bells and whistles to whatever you are doing.
  • Prioritize Ruthlessly. Remember that in most cases you have many other things that need to be done, and you’ll need to simplify, delegate or eliminate tasks from your list. Keeping in mind the next important task on your list helps you move on instead of having too many tasks pile up!
  • Embrace Iteration. Recognize that much of the important work you do will end up having to evolve over time. Understanding what you need to get done before the next round of feedback helps to avoid aiming for perfection at every step. For example, if you’re working on a slide deck, tell your supervisor you only want feedback on the content, not the format in this particular iteration.
  • Celebrate progress: Acknowledge and celebrate progress, both of things that have worked out, but also on things that failed and led to learnings. This recognition keeps teams motivated while remaining them that it is OK to fail, so long as you learn.