Is too much perfectionism good?

[Actionpreneur]

Hello fastlaners currently I am struggling with perfectionism, and because of this thing I can't deliver the product to the market efficiently.

 

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[srodrigo]

Hello fastlaners currently I am struggling with perfection paralysis, and because of this thing I can't deliver the product to the market efficiently.

Sounds like a low effort thread. "Hello, this is my problem. Bye". What are you even trying to get out of this thread?

BTW, Actionpreneur sounds a bit contradictory with perfection paralysis.

 

[Andy Black]

Hello fastlaners currently I am struggling with perfection paralysis, and because of this thing I can't deliver the product to the market efficiently.

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[Actionpreneur]

Sounds like a low effort thread. "Hello, this is my problem. Bye". What are you even trying to get out of this thread?

BTW, Actionpreneur sounds a bit contradictory with perfection paralysis.

I didn't say I don't act at all, but perfectionism makes me inefficient. That's my point.

 

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[Isaac Odongo]

What do you mean perfectionism makes you inefficient?

Elon Musk verifies his products minutely. We could call that perfection or attention to detail.

You either have poor grasp of what you're producing, which stops you from knowing when it's ready to hit the market.

Or you are lazy, which makes you fail to complete your products as your imagination says.

Be clear about how the problem manifests. I think most people just revere perfectionism.

 

[Devilery]

If you can't deliver, it's bad. Learn to formulate better questions, it's hard to help you when we have no idea where you're currently at and where you're trying to get.

 

[Andy Black]

Btw... too much anything isn't good. By definition.

 

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[Roli]

I didn't say I don't act at all, but perfectionism makes me inefficient. That's my point.

Essentially perfectionism is a form of self-sabotage. You say to yourself I won't do X or complete Y until I have it 'perfect'. But in reality 'perfect' is a completely abstract concept when it comes to 99.99% of things outside of the sporting arena.

You can have a perfect game of bowling, or tennis, or golf, but writing the perfect book, or designing the perfect website is impossible, because there is no metric you could ever use to prove perfection.

Therefore, telling yourself you won't do something unless it's perfect, is the same as telling yourself you won't do something.

 

[Actionpreneur]

Essentially perfectionism is a form of self-sabotage. You say to yourself I won't do X or complete Y until I have it 'perfect'. But in reality 'perfect' is a completely abstract concept when it comes to 99.99% of things outside of the sporting arena.

You can have a perfect game of bowling, or tennis, or golf, but writing the perfect book, or designing the perfect website is impossible, because there is no metric you could ever use to prove perfection.

Therefore, telling yourself you won't do something unless it's perfect, is the same as telling yourself you won't do something.

Thank you, that's a good point.

 

[Actionpreneur]

If you can't deliver, it's bad. Learn to formulate better questions, it's hard to help you when we have no idea where you're currently at and where you're trying to get.

I want general advice.

 

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[amp0193]

I want general advice.

I think the best entrprenuers have perfectionist tendencies but still have a bias towards action.

The best thing you can do for your business is have an exceptional product. Perfectionism helps with that.

But perfectionism in a vacuum is bad, because you won’t put your work out there soon enough and iterate based on customer feedback.

Perfectionism can also make it hard to scale, because it manifests as trust issues with employees.

 

[Muhammad Ibrahim]

Hello fastlaners currently I am struggling with perfectionism, and because of this thing I can't deliver the product to the market efficiently.

here's the best advice
Start. If delaying due to perfectionism is the problem, starting will show you that you didn't need to worry about it since you've got a good product anyways
and if there's something wrong with it, you can adjust on the way.
if you want to do this in small bites, run beta tests/trials/demos first
what you need is feedback. it will cut perfectionism paralysis down in an instant

 

[Actionpreneur]

T

I think the best entrprenuers have perfectionist tendencies but still have a bias towards action.

The best thing you can do for your business is have an exceptional product. Perfectionism helps with that.

But perfectionism in a vacuum is bad, because you won’t put your work out there soon enough and iterate based on customer feedback.

Perfectionism can also make it hard to scale, because it manifests as trust issues with employees.

Thank you, this is helpful.

 

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[Actionpreneur]

here's the best advice
Start. If delaying due to perfectionism is the problem, starting will show you that you didn't need to worry about it since you've got a good product anyways
and if there's something wrong with it, you can adjust on the way.
if you want to do this in small bites, run beta tests/trials/demos first
what you need is feedback. it will cut perfectionism paralysis down in an instant

here's the best advice
Start. If delaying due to perfectionism is the problem, starting will show you that you didn't need to worry about it since you've got a good product anyways
and if there's something wrong with it, you can adjust on the way.
if you want to do this in small bites, run beta tests/trials/demos first
what you need is feedback. it will cut perfectionism paralysis down in an instant

Thank you, I will implement that.

 

[Devilery]

I want general advice.

Think less. Do more. Crush your "perfectionism" with action and results. By the way, you're not a "perfectionist", you're just anxious, insecure, and afraid of failure. Action beats those too.

 

[emavery176]

You will only have a perfect product once you launch it into the marketplace and get customer feedback. Instead of perfection, focus on getting something to market, listening to customer feedback, and implementing their suggestions and criticism (within reason) into your product or service immediately.

I did this with my Airbnb. I learned about the process. I focused on getting the room ready and then listening to the market (my guests) about specific amenities they wanted in my listing. Most of the suggestions were services I had never considered during my "idea" phase.

 

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[Antifragile]

What is "perfectionism"? Can a product really ever be perfect?
No.

There is always room to get it better.

Then the question isn't about perfectionism as it's never attainable. The better question is what product can you create in reasonable amount of time to test with the market?

Any product that gets a reaction and engagement with the market is good enough. Once you are there, listen to the market for ways to improve.

But it's not easy at all. In fact, most people who come to this forum first ask "where do I find an idea on what to pursue?" or "what should I be doing, what problem should I be solving"? These threads are a dime a dozen.

This is where people who claim "perfectionism" can truly shine if they are sober enough to accept reality. Reality is that the product invention happens on the gaps between deeper knowledge and recognizing a need. You can uncover it when you are deeply interested in the subject and become excellent at it. Being a "perfectionist" who cannot settle for less than doing your best, you have the highest chance of seeing those needs as you get significantly better than others. And the minute you discover what it is, you must race to the MVP (imperfect by definition) and iterate on improvements from that point onwards. In other words, what gets you from A to B won't get you from B to C on the road to success. To succeed you need to be able to change yourself at the right moments for the right reasons.

Hope this helps you wrap your mind about your situation.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Just go and make mistakes, you don't have yo be perfect or everything has to be perfect. Life will throw you a curveball or people will tell you what you have is what the don't want.