‘A wise man or woman seeks for perfection but only a fool expects to find it.’
Perfection is a holy grail that is probably not obtainable and not what it is cracked up to be.
Safaraz believes that ‘good enough is often good enough.’
How many times do businesses some up with an innovative product or service but wait too long trying to get it perfect, only for a competitor to steel a march on them by launching something similar first and taking the prize because they were first to go to market?
Equally, launching a product or service before it is ready can also be disastrous. It is a timing issue and a tough call. But the message from this episode is that being too cautious can be as bad and perhaps worse than being over ambitious.
It is also important to recognise that all products and services evolve. They improve because lessons are learned, and mistakes and imperfections corrected.
It is well illustrated by the story of a group taking part in a ceramics course. At the end of the year the tutor split the class into two sets with potters of equal ability. The first was set the task of producing the most perfect pot they could and the second of making as many pots as possible.
The second group produced not only the most pots but also the best pot because constant practice and learning from mistakes had refined their skills.
The lesson being that trying for perfection had actually not been the way to end up with the best and that solutions that work can often be counter intuitive.
Businesses often do best when they keep the focus on the ambitious but obtainable rather than chase rainbows that can never be reached but always stay one step away.