“Don’t let perfect ruin good”
That’s what Harry Beckwith, author of “Selling the Invisible” has to say on the subject. He goes on to say the following:
“You easily can get stalled in the shift from strategy to tactics because you are paralyzed by your desire for excellence”
I see this type of thing all the time in the shift from an ‘idea’ to a ‘plan’ when people get paralyzed by analysis….everyone gets caught up in making the plan perfect (and therefore the realization of the idea) that they don’t actually start anything.
There’s nothing wrong with striving for perfection…but you’ll never reach it so why hold back a project or an idea trying to make it perfect? I say make your plan very good and start executing…you can tweak your plan while executing. Once you’ve started, you may realize that your original idea was flawed and find a more innovative way to accomplish your goal.
Don’t get caught up in the ‘analysis paralysis’ trap…make a plan that will work, execute on it and then be willing to change at a moments notice. Spend your time (and money) on being more flexible (i.e., agile) rather than crafting the perfect plan.
[tags] planning, agile, seeking perfection [/tags]
About Eric D. Brown
Hi Eric – great post! I’ve heard this type of behavior referred to as the three P’s – perfectionism, procrastination and paralysis. It is definitely a hard cycle to get out of. As you said, there is nothing wrong with striv ing for perfection, but your project/initiative shoudn’t suffer as a consequence!
Twitter: ericdbrown
says:
Thanks Raven….I like the “3P’s” concept…that definitely sums it up perfectly (or does it?)