Perfection is ‘100% Impossible,’ So Don’t Fall for Its Illusion

A reporter once asked a very successful businessperson: “What is the secret to your success?”

He replied: “Two words.”

“And they are?”

“Right decisions.”

“OK, I see. And how do you make the right decisions?”

“One word.”

“And that is?”

“Experience.”

“I see, and how do you get experience?”

“Two words.”

“And what are they?”

“Wrong decisions.”

We heard this story many years ago, and it still resonates strongly with us.

The Futility of Second-Guessing

So many people have “analysis paralysis,” worrying about a decision — that there is a “right” and a “wrong” choice. We can never really know; it’s impossible to go back and compare the outcome of a decision with what would have been if we had taken the other option. Nothing stands still, and circumstances change. We must simply consider it part of the learning process.

There is no such thing as failure, only results. Learning helps us to develop and grow. If we don’t learn, we don’t grow.

Part of a leader’s job is to create a culture of learning, to help his or her teams — and the company — stay ahead as events unfold. How well this job is done also impacts stakeholders. Like a ripple effect, it travels to internal and external customers and others watching you.

To stay ahead, remain successful and drive performance, a leader must pay attention to the critical human side of learning. In short, you need to constantly “learn to learn.”

No One Has All the Answers

Being 100 percent perfect 100 percent of the time is 100 percent impossible.  Knowledge is power, but not powerful enough to give a leader all the right answers. For the best chance at getting the best answers, you collaborate with others to learn and keep up with the rapid rate of change.

Of course, we need to analyze and compare options, then make the best decision and move on. And recognize that even the “wrong” decisions can be “right,” as they always bring us experience and an outcome that can be evaluated and used to adjust for the next step in the process, or the next similar situation.

And in a fast-changing world, we need to be able to make decisions by balancing the need for speed with depth and breadth of data. In some cases, decision-making and accepting responsibility for the outcome takes courage — which is crucial to progress and success. We must be willing to accept that decisions will not be perfect.

Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy

Leaders should beware of the illusion of perfection. Is there even such a thing? And would it really be something to strive for? We’d say no.

Maybe the best definition of perfection is to learn and keep getting better at something. Could perfection, particularly in the analysis paralysis scenario, be outdated? Yes, perfection is outdated. We gain insights through non-perfect results. We learn. And we can only develop by learning.

Perfection is enemy of learning and agility, two of the Six Superchargers™ outlined in our book Supercharged Leader: Develop Your Mind and Skillset to Deal With Anything. Don’t fall into the delusion of perfection — the world moves too swiftly for that. When we do, we become overly cautious and anxious when things go wrong.

Don’t let your pursuit of excellence lead you astray. Don’t let analysis paralysis hold you back. Analyze, decide and follow through. Evaluate the results, learn from them and value the experience. If the outcome was not great, get up, brush yourself off and keep going, taking your learning and experience with you. This displays courage, wisdom and resilience, which are crucial to success.

Leaders and their teams are on a non-stop learning journey, so they must be agile and embrace the opportunities. This requires having an open and learning mindset — an evergreen skill that constantly needs refining, even if imperfect. Especially if imperfect.