You focus on tiny details instead of the big picture.
Peter Perfect never shipped anything—not because he was lazy, but because it was never quite right.
When his team finished a report, he’d say, “Let’s refine it a little more.”
When they completed a presentation, he’d insist, “Just one last tweak.”
And when a deadline came? He’d push it back—because “it’s not ready yet.”
One day, Peter’s boss called him in. “Where’s the new proposal?”
Peter swallowed. “I just need to fix a few things—”
“Peter,” his boss sighed, “our competitor just released their version. We waited too long.”
It hit Peter like a brick. Their version wasn’t perfect—but it was done.
That night, Peter stared at his screen, reviewing the tiny adjustments he had planned. Would they have made a difference? Not really.
So, he tried something radical.
The next day, when a team member asked, “Should we tweak this a bit more?” Peter took a deep breath and said, “No. It’s good enough—let’s ship it.”
His team blinked. Then, slowly, they nodded.
For the first time, something got finished without endless revisions. And the best part? It was just as good as if they had spent weeks fine-tuning.
That’s when Peter finally understood: Excellence isn’t about perfection. It’s about knowing when to stop.
From then on, he set a new rule: 85% is good enough—ship it, learn, improve, move forward.
And for the first time, his work started making a real impact.
You focus on tiny details instead of the big picture.
Micromanaging slows progress and drains your energy.
Define what “good enough” looks like—perfection is not always the goal.
“You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is necessary.” — Luke 10:41-42
John Michael