Stop at 80%

stop at 80Which means you’ve already read too far. Ouch. Sorry about that!

I’ve worked with lots of people who are lovely human beings and good at what they do, but who have never really accomplished much. What’s wrong? Good old Pareto.

With any given task you could keep working on. Keep perfecting your product, service, proposal, presentation or whatever you’re working on. Or you can stop at 80%. Make sure what you produce is of great quality and will stand up to scrutiny, but don’t try to hit perfect. What is perfect anyway?

This relates to the fail fast rule. You need to finish the task, get what you’re working on out there, and see if it works. Learn from the experience and adjust for the next round.

As perfectionists (and I’m one of them, I’ve had to learn this myself too) we need to accept we see stuff other people don’t. But because whatever you’re doing or creating is for them, not for you, you need to stop at 80%. In all likelihood they won’t know, and they will think your 80% is already brilliant.

By the way—the 80% also applies to this book. There is at least 20% in this book that will not be a good fit for what you do and what you need to do. Give it a miss—but do read to the end!

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About Mike Boorn Plener

Mike Boorn Plener
Mike Boorn Plener is a Business Growth Specialist and Founder of Business Connector. Mike has the ability to swiftly analyse a problem and be the catalyst to generate practical solutions. Click to view Mike Boorn Plener's full profile

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