Letting Go of Perfection
This is another listener suggestion, from Walter in New Jersey. He knows that he’s a perfectionist, but it sometimes gets in the way of getting the work done on time, especially when it involves other wedding/event pros. Can you relate? When we know we can do better, we want to do better. If we have an unlimited timeline, as when making art for yourself, that’s fine. But when your timeline is restricted, and when others are affected by you not getting your part done, that’s when problems can occur.
Listen to this new, 8-minute episode and see if I can help you let go, at least a little, of your need for perfection every time.
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Below is a full transcript. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at [email protected] or contact me via text, use the short form on this page, or call 732.422.6362
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– Letting go of perfection. Listen to this episode, see what I’m talking about. Hi, it’s Alan Berg. Welcome back to another episode of “The Wedding Business Solutions” podcast. This was a recommendation from a friend and client, Walter, in New Jersey, who wrote to me because he had heard another episode I did about perfect or perfection is the enemy of profitability. And what he had said was, he has trouble letting go of striving for perfection. He’s a photographer. His company does photo, it does video, it does entertainment. And he said, as a photographer, he has trouble working for or with other people because his idea of what it needs to be or perfection is different than someone else. And when he knows it can be better he might spend more time, take more photos which requires more editing and going through that, take more time posing or going to different locations and things. And while the end result is great, it could hurt the timeline of the event, it could impact other people.
Especially if you’re listening to this and you are not the boss or the one that’s running that particular event, that timeline is not just yours. You need to be working with other people there. You can’t be taking more pictures when everybody’s still waiting for the ceremony to start or dinner or whatever it is. So how do we let go of perfection? And if you haven’t listened to the other episode about perfect is the enemy of profit or perfection is the enemy of profitability. You might want to listen to that one as well. The idea of letting go of perfect is that customers don’t hire us for perfect, customers hire us for a result, and they want that result to be what they expect or better. Now, we always try to exceed people’s expectations and that was something else I’ve spoken about. You can’t hit a target you can’t see. So do you know what their expectations are? But thinking about letting go of perfection is since they’re not paying you for perfect, then yes you know it could be better. Given unlimited time, you could make it better.
Unfortunately, we don’t live in that world where we have unlimited time. We don’t live in that world where we can just keep doing more and more and more and more to make it better and better when it comes to finite time events. Now, I always say like with your website, with marketing pieces, get them done, get them out, then make them better. Constantly make them better and better and better. The thing is, the timeline is unlimited then, the timeline can keep getting pushed. We can keep making it better. I’m constantly making tweaks to my website, little tweaks, bigger tweaks, constantly doing that. But this happens over days and months and weeks and years. When you have hours to get this done, you can’t go and keep trying to make it perfect.
What you have to do is know the target you’re trying to hit. Know what will make the customer happy and more happy than they expected, but knowing that there’s still still head room to go above that if they’re not paying you for that and if you don’t have the time to bring it to that level, what you have to do is not sacrifice the timeline and not sacrifice the relationships with the other vendors who you might be holding up by getting it out and getting it done. If you know Seth Godin – G o d i n – he always talks about shipping the work, shipping the work, right? Getting it done, right? We need to do that. Facebook has a poster in their offices: “Done is better than perfect” And it’s true.
When it comes to a finite time event, you have to accept that. When it comes to art, it’s different. If you’re painting a painting for yourself, you have unlimited time. If you are working for a client who needs it done by certain time, you’re going to make it the best you can within the time that you’re given. You might be able to make it better, but what’s more important, is it the timeline or is it making it better? Now, if you can’t meet their expectations during the timeline, you need to let the customer know. We don’t have that luxury. When you’re working on a corporate event, a wedding, a mitzvah, a quince, when things are happening on a certain timeline on a certain day, you don’t have that luxury of saying, “I’m just going to keep pushing the goalpost back here.” You can’t do that.
So, Walter, this is for you and everybody else listening who is a perfectionist and I am a recovering perfectionist. Done is better than perfect. Knowing that you’ve done really good work, even though you know you can do better work as long as you know that you’re meeting and exceeding that customer’s expectation, even when you know it can be better, you have to learn to let go at that point. And what you’ll want to look back at is is the customer happy? Did you get a great review from them? Did the expressions on their face when they saw the work that you did, does that say that this customer is thrilled at what you’ve done? And if it is, then you have to accept that that is the work that you need to do for that particular customer on that particular event. On the next event, what did you learn? Could you do something differently? Could you accelerate your own timeline to get to the level that you want to get to and still meet the timeline that you need to get to or whatever that constraint is that you’re working within? Right?
I remember working with a catering client I think you’re listening here also in Chicago and they were telling me they have this new chef who was just wonderful, young, new chef, really creative. And he came up with this dish but it required seven touches to the plate. So those of you, they’re not caterers. And every time somebody or something has to put something on that plate or do something to that plate as a touch. So it required seven touches to make the dish the way that he wanted. And the owner also a chef said, “Let’s do that with four.” And he said, “Well, it’s not going to be the same.” And she said, “Yeah, but it’s still going to be amazing. It’s still going to be delicious, and nobody’s going to know the three touches that didn’t happen.”
And Walter, this is for you. Again, no one’s going to know what you didn’t do. Only you. So if the customer is happy, and in the case of the chef, if the guests are saying, “My gosh, this food is delicious and that plate looks amazing”, four touches means we can get 200 plates out within the time allotted. Seven touches means in order to get those same plates out and the same amount of time, I need to have more people in the kitchen working, which is now more expense. And not all kitchens can handle more people in the kitchen.
So, if you’ve never seen what it takes to put out 200 plates within 15 or 20 minutes, it’s really an amazing thing. We take it for granted as a guest that our food just comes out and it’s hot and it looks good, but really is an amazing assembly line happening in the kitchen. So again, would seven touches have made it better? Yes. Will the customer be happy with four? Yes. And if the customer would be happy with four, let’s make it four and make the customer happy. And when it comes to making dinner for yourself making dinner for your family, go ahead and put the seven touches on it there. So, can you let go of perfection? Yes. Is it going to be difficult for some of you? Yes. Yes. I’m sure it will be. I am sure it will be difficult for you.
All of us recovering perfectionists know that letting go is difficult. However, go back to the result that the customer is happy with. And if the customer is thrilled with the result and is giving you a five star review for the work that you did even though you know it can be better, that should be your reward to say, “Yeah, I did good there. I’m going to do better the next time I’m going to learn from This. And if I can figure out to squeeze what I want to do within the time constraint I have, I’ll do that. But if I can’t, as long as that customer is thrilled and happy and as long as you know the next event can be better that should be enough.” Walter, I hope this helped you and everybody else that’s listening, that’s a perfectionist. I hope it gave you something to think about. Thanks.
I’m Alan Berg. Thanks for listening. If you have any questions about this or if you’d like to suggest other topics for “The Wedding Business Solutions Podcast” please let me know. My email is [email protected]. Look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Thanks.
Listen to this and all episodes on Apple Podcast, YouTube or your favorite app/site:
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- YouTube: www.WeddingBusinessSolutionsPodcast.tv
- Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3sGsuB8
- Stitcher:
- Google Podcast:
- iHeart Radio: https://ihr.fm/31C9Mic
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