When you want great results, know that you will fail along the way. The alternative to failing at something is not even trying, which is another form of failure. So failure is inevitable. It is not permanent unless you stop. It is a major barrier if you let it keep you from even beginning. Sight your target, take your best shot, look at what you can do better/differently the next time and go again.
Too many people spend endless hours in study, preparation, more study and more preparation. It is an endless loop of “fixing to get ready to plan to go maybe someday when I get one more thing right.” That is a supreme arrogance that says “I can be perfect the first time.” It is also a demonstration that you will allow yourself to be defined by your past rather than by your dreams.
Life is not about perfection; it is about progressing steps of success.
If you are supposed to be making sales calls do a little prep work, make the calls,evaluate the results, make improvements, and go again.
If you are giving performance feedback to direct reports consider the objective, have an honest two way conversation, review the results, and make changes for the next one.
When you are collecting information on performance of people, products, or methods make your decision when you are at about 80% of the information. You’ll probably be right and the time to get the extra 20% hardly ever changes the decision. The delay does cost in unforeseen ways. Perfection comes too late to ever be useful. Failure to act is a conceit.
