Crippled CEO Blog #099: Done is better than perfect

Crippled CEO Blog #099:

It was pointed out to me this week that I somehow have not written a blog yet about a phrase people often associate with me. 

It’s a mantra that my mother bestowed upon me and I have repeated to myself and others countless times. 

Done is better than perfect. 

I was a wee bit of a perfectionist growing up, which often meant that school projects and other tasks wouldn’t get completed — because they weren’t yet perfect. 

I still have a bit of that in me, and certain things do drive me nuts, but I’ve largely been able to cure myself of this affliction by constantly hammering myself with the phrase “done is better than perfect.”

And it’s so useful because it applies to seriously everything.

So often, we leave things incomplete, or even worse, don’t even start, because it’s just not perfect. We go back-and-forth over details that probably don’t really matter for ages, when we should just ship the thing.

This gets even worse in a group setting, where you can have lots of people debating tiny minutiae that can seem critically important. Meanwhile, your competition just sent out what they had, and it’s not perfect, but it’s out there, it’s done, and it’s better than the nothing that you released. 

Have you not sent that résumé because it’s not just right yet? Send it. Done is better than perfect.

Tweaking that text message to the boy you like? Send it. Done is better than perfect.

Going over the proposal for the 60th time? Done is better than perfect.

Trying to make just one more change to the logo? Done is better than perfect.

If it wasn’t for “done is better than perfect“, I would never publish a blog each week. Seriously. There are things I dislike about every single one.

But I just put it up anyways and move on.

Because done is better than perfect.

(Do you know who is perfect and always makes sure that I’m done? Your mom, that’s who. She also gets a text message from me with a link to the latest blog every Sunday. She signed up by texting the phone number 484848 with the word CRIP as the message.)