Perfection can be the antithesis to success.

There are many who call BS on that statement. “But what about companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft? Don’t they release perfect products?” Yes, they generally do. But my statement is directed towards the average individual, not the corporate behemoths that have unlimited resources to build the perfect product. And even then, they have released products that are far from perfect.

For us, putting our work out there is essential because if we don’t do it, then we’ll never get feedback. Accordingly, if we delay getting feedback, then we’ll never know if we’re doing the right thing. So unless you’re an artist that only do things for your own self-satisfaction, you should make a habit to release your work often.

This is why perfection is a bottleneck. When we’re working on something in a closed bubble, we’re deluding ourselves into thinking that we’re making progress. However, progress is only made when our work is validated by our users. This is why perfecting an unproven product usually leads to feature creep and analysis paralysis. And even when a product is done, it can still be continuously improved (look at Kaizen).

So don’t let the fear of imperfection stop you from shipping. There’s always certainty in releasing an imperfect product, than uncertainty in releasing a perfect one.

So let me rephrase my earlier statement:

Perfection can be the antithesis to getting things done.

I can say this because this post has been a draft since 2016 and 2017.