W
hy is it that some people seem to move ahead by leaps and bounds while other people who are perhaps more talented seem to be left behind in the dust? Seth Godin said it best in Linchpin: Are You Indispensable. He wrote: “Real artists ship.”
What did he mean? You don’t have to be the best to be successful. The people who get ahead don’t worry about being perfect. They get off their butts, take action and get their products to market.
So here are my thoughts on why imperfect execution is better than perfect planning
Work your plan
While I’m the first one to tell you that planning is important, I know that too often planning can be a form of procrastination. Rather than getting down to the work, you keep tweaking the plan. Get a plan in place and start working it. Over time you can tweak the plan as you see what works and what doesn’t.
Beating the competition
How many times have you seen a competitor release a new product that is just like the brilliant idea you had a year ago but is still in the planning stages? Don’t you kick yourself when that happens? I know I have. Let’s learn from our mistakes; when you have a brilliant idea quickly create a plan then work on execution so that someone else doesn’t beat you to the punch.
Get results now
Customers don’t buy your plan. People have to know how to buy from you, so make it easy. A less-than-perfect sales page, advertisement, or social media campaign will get infinitely more results than that piece of paper with your plan on it that never gets implemented. Whatever method you choose to market with, get on with it. You’ll get better as you go.
You can do better?
How many times have you seen somebody else’s product, read somebody else’s book, or been to somebody else’s seminar and thought to yourself “I can do better than that”? Well if you really can do better, prove it! Nothing is perfect. If those less-than-perfect competitors are selling, get off your butt and get your better product out there too.
You’ll feel better
You’ll feel better. Seriously. That frustration you feel every time you look at your plan but don’t see any forward action will go away. Sure you may feel some trepidation, some nerves, as you get started. But as Dale Carnegie said: “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence encourage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
So if you have some new product that has been sitting in the back your mind, or new marketing strategy you been planning to attempt, quick tweaking the plan! Go out and get busy.
