A passion for perfection can sometimes get in the way of getting a job well done.
Peter Crocker considers the care factor, and how to strike a balance between a job well done and a job that will be perfect if it ever gets finished!
They say a passion for what you’re trying to achieve is a key to happiness and success. But without balance, can your passion or care factor for perfection be holding you back?
Let’s look at the different forces in play in large and small business scenarios. Let’s say the small business owner equals 100 percent care factor: they’re emotionally involved in every project, passionately committed to achieving results, and personally responsible for all decisions. In short, they are determined to get it 100 percent perfectly right.
Then let’s say the big business client has 95 percent care factor. Generally they’re less emotionally involved in the project, very committed—but not so passionate—about achieving results, and have other people to bounce their decisions off. In short, they want the project completed well and they want it off their desk.
Passion is a good thing, right? Well, yes, but sometimes it can strangle action.
Many marketing initiatives I have observed move quickly to start with. The brief is taken, concepts drawn up and drafts delivered for review. Everyone’s happy so far. Then, on the final five percent things start to stall. Tweaking, reviewing, analysis, adding more information, waiting for the right time, or indecision, all start to creep in, and the final touches to the project stretch into weeks. This is an attempt to make sure everything is 100 percent ready for launch.
The fact is, many a timely campaign or sharp idea has been watered down during these final ‘perfection’ stages. Rarely will the planets align for the 100 percent perfect environment and often the final few percent can take longer than the rest put together. So, not only will you be achieving very little, you may be making things worse!
In a corporate environment, ranting bosses, fixed deadlines, fast-moving competitors, and a slightly lower care factor, combine to keep things moving forward—‘let’s get it out the door!’
With small businesses on a much tighter budget, it is even more important that you don’t waste time and money on something without a return. That is, wasting it on labouring over the last few percent.
When you care just a little less, things start to happen. You’ll become more focused on getting the initiative out the door, you’ll make swifter decisions and the project will gain momentum. In short, it will actually happen and you’ll be onto the next one.
And let’s face it, 95 percent perfect is 100 percent better than a killer idea that sits idle in your ideas folder.
Just pretend you’re back in the corporate world with a boss who says ‘I don’t care what else you’ve got on, just have something on my desk by Thursday morning!’
I’m all for passion, but too much can sometimes be a brake. Is there something you need to loosen your grip on?
* Peter Crocker specialises in copywriting marketing communications for business. This article first appeared in the online magazine for solo business owners, http://www.flyingsolo.com.au
