Beware anyone who describes themselves as a perfectionist. Perfection is almost never achievable and often causes delays or is an excuse / reason not to start or finish a project. Perfection is not effective.
Think carefully, how often do you need something to be perfect? Do you really need the exact number of beans in a can or the perfect presentation or every angle to be perfectly covered before you start a new project? If the answer is yes then you will never do anything as perfection is rarely, if ever achieved.
Even when you put your life in the hands of the car you drive or aircraft in which you fly you know it is not perfect, but it is good enough.
People who describe themselves as perfectionists either rarely get things finished or are conning themselves. If this is a hobby and you want the perfect painting or sculpture then no problem (unless this is your business). Too many people describe themselves as perfectionists when what they actually mean is they are incapable of finishing anything.
To be effective we need things to be good enough or slightly better.
This is where Six Sigma can help us. Assessing the process and improving it to the point where it is satisfactory to the customer is the way forward. Here, we must listen to the voice of the customer, what used to be called customer requirements.
The finish on a £50 watch is good enough for the customer at the lower end of the market. The finish on a £500,000 one will be so much better but neither will be perfect. They will however both sell for the right price in the right market. They will be good enough.
Even a set of accounts does not pretend to be perfectly correct. The report of the auditors says “true and fair view” it does not say perfect. If every transaction had to be 100% perfect they would never get published.
For a new project to be started it does not have to be perfect, it has to be good enough to get it going and see if it works. In the modern world delaying is so often more expensive than even failure.
To be effective nothing has to be perfect, it has to do the job to the level the customer demands. You could say that is a new definition of perfect!!!
Beware perfectionists.
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