A person who was describing his experience with his choral group recently shared this profound statement with me, “You don’t have to be precise to be perfect.” He was telling me how much he loved being part of the group and that he found the entire experience a perfect blend of singing, socializing, sharing and joy making. The choral director is a world-class musician and an all around fabulous guy. They only meet once a week and don’t have time to practice other than the short time they are together, so the music is not always precise. Be that as it may, the experience of his choral group is still perfect!
Thinking that it has to be exactly precise to be perfect stops us from experiencing the joy of the moment. What a great lesson for us all, whether we are designing experiences for customers or challenging ourselves in any of our endeavors. Being a perfectionist can often block our dreams from coming true and is a sure way to be constantly disappointed.
I once heard Guy Kawasaki speak about his experiences working at Apple, where the mantra was to always ship before ready. In other words, don’t wait for perfection, just go for it.