We’ve all been there. Laboring over one word, one part of a video, one sentence, or one call to action.
We painfully mull over the “what ifs” asking ourselves, “what if there’s a better way?” “What if it isn’t good enough?” Or simply just staring at the screen and saying, “it’s not quite there yet.”
Then you realize at some point you just have to get this assignment done and move on. Whether you know it or not, you’ve now been a part of an age-old saying:
“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”
The idea of perfection is something we all strive for, regardless of industry, title or task. We want the job we do to be the best it can be.
This can be especially true for public relations practitioners whose work is often seen in the public space and out there for public scrutiny. And whether you’re an agency owner or part of an inhouse team, we want to execute our very best ideas and showing the very best results.
The irony in the whole process: there’s no such thing as perfect.
Let that sink in for a second. Now, say it with me – there’s no such thing as perfect.
It’s a unicorn. A myth. An urban legend that’s based on a small piece of truth (“I wrote the PERFECT crisis statement the other day”) that gets passed down from colleague to colleague.
The Origin & Meaning
The origin of this statement is somewhat unknown, but can be attributed to a handful of philosophers and scholars, including Voltaire in the 1600s who said, “Perfect is the enemy of good.”
The concept has also been addressed by philosophers like Aristotle and Confucius as the principle of the “Golden Mean,” which advises against extremism on either end.
While we may not know who originally coined the idea or phrase (just a lot of very smart people), the takeaway is that the search for the perfect [insert task here] has been ongoing for hundreds, or thousands, of years.
There may be a more recent applicable principle that many of us heard in school – the Law of
Diminishing Returns, which states that, “at some point, adding an additional factor of production results in smaller increases in output.”
You might have also heard about the Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule, which [loosely] states that it commonly takes 20% of the time to complete 80% of a task while to complete the last 20% of a task takes 80% of the effort.
Whichever way you slice it, say it, or live it, the important thing to remember is that perfection is likely unachievable, and staring at the screen for hours is likely taking away from creating an effective piece of content.
I don’t mean to burst your bubble. Every now and then you may think you have the perfect statement or press release, but the reality is as soon as it’s published or sent out things have changed, and you could probably tweak your piece of content to be more effective, convey your message better, or just resonate better with your audiences.
So, like that latest piece of technology you’ve invested in, it’s outdated as soon as you’ve downloaded the app.
Good vs. Effective
Public relations pros who’ve been executing campaigns long enough know that “good” is sometimes not good enough. And all communications campaigns are (or should be) designed to achieve some measurable result.
And truth be told, I’ve never been a fan of the saying as it stands. So, while I’m no Confucius or Voltaire, but I’ve taken the liberty of adjusting the statement slightly:
“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of effective.”
As strategic communications professionals, it’s not about being perfect, or even good. I mean, who really wants to be known for being “good”? Not me!
It’s about being effective.
We have our strategic communications plans (if you don’t, I have some other blogs for you below) that outline what success looks like. We’ve outlined what success looks like and that should be our guide.
So, instead of mulling over the perfect press release, the perfect tweet, the perfect video, or the perfect meme, ask yourself this question:
“Is this effective in pushing us closer to our stated goals?”
If the answer is yes, then it may be time to push that piece of content out and move forward.
To be clear, I’m not saying you should push out substandard content or push clients to take leaps that aren’t fully thought out and strategic.
I’m saying we should recalibrate our expectations and thresholds on when we’re ready to push content out, make decisions, or push forward.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be effective.
As you’re taking those leaps and pushing out that content, here are some recently blogs to help you through your planning and content creation process:
– Wake Up. Kick Ass. Repeat.
– Why Owned Media Is Vital In Your Communications Mix
– How to Create Content That Engages Audiences and Builds Brand Trust Quickly
– 7 Tips to Measure Your Strategic Communications Campaigns
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