Perfection is a swear word.

There is something fundamentally wrong with a lot people's perspective of how we should attempt a new project. Every time I have been involved with a new project business people like to throw around terms like:

1. Make sure the software is perfect.
2. I want a perfect system.
3. If this systems/application/car is not perfect there will be consequences.

Here is the fundamental problem with all those statements. Perfection implies no mistakes, no bugs, it works everytime for everyone even if they work in a different way. A perfect car would win the best fuel consumption and fastest car ever award. It implies completeness.

To achieve perfection is not realistic, it is not feasible and it is actually plain stupid to make any  statements like that. To create the perfect project you would need to understand everything first.

Or in simple words

1. Perfection would require you to know what you don't know
2. You don't know what you don't know.

In short perfection does not exist. People who demand perfection might sound intelligent, have high standards but actually they are just hard to please. Personally to me they sound stupid and unrealistic. They sound like the type of person that needs to get out a little bit more and go see what the real world is about.

So if we cannot strive for perfection, what do you strive for? Excellence. Perfection is 100%, excellence is 90% however you can hit 90% easy. Its easier to move from 90% complete to 95% complete than it is to try and get 100% completeness from the start.

Simple mind shift which will bring you big results. Also as team lead saying to team members I except excellence from you empowers them to do their job to the best of their ability as they can attend to things they now. Demanding perfection means they run around stressed and probably getting burnt out without delivering , its got to be perfect you see.

Go do something excellent!