Did you know that progress is valued over perfection? Check this article to read more about it.

Progress is more important than perfection in the company. While progress gets goals achieved, and gets work done, perfection on the other hand does not. Perfectionists tend to perfect their work which would put them in a loop of procrastinating the work. It also makes them have unrealistic expectations and constant fear of not producing products that are good enough.

Perfectionists would struggle to accomplish tasks at a fast rate, which is a crucial aspect of today’s fast-paced world. The constant pressure perfectionists would put themselves under affects their sense of self-worth. So, what is the difference between progress and perfection?

What is the difference between progress and perfection?

Progress in development and improvement; is moving forward towards a certain goal or destination. During the progression process, mistakes are made and a person adopting a progressive way of thinking can learn from their mistakes. This type of mindset if adapted constantly would lead to growth and continuous learning. An example of progress would be focusing on the bigger picture, as well as what works at the time.

Perfection ruins lives

While perfection is different, as it halts growth and the learning process altogether. Perfectionism in working puts so many barriers before the person when tackling a certain task. In the back of a perfectionist’s mind, there is a set of criteria and expectations that they believe should be achieved no matter what happens. Thus, not meeting such expectations would lead to disappointment in the work they do, thus affecting their self-confidence and doubting their abilities.

Perfectionists tie their worth to the quality and the outcome they produce. They are more likely to procrastinate working on a project because they are afraid to fail. Such a mentality would hinder the pace at which they work slowing them immensely. It also stops them from learning and growing. It is a limited mindset that fosters unachievable goals and leads to work unfulfillment. An example of how perfection work looks like would be setting goals that need to be achieved perfectly. As work goes by, it looks good, but the work is not living up to the perfect expectations you have set. This leads to stress, failure, and procrastinating.

Progress over perfection

Progress is much more valued and applicable than perfectionism in the workspace. Companies work in terms of growth, goals, and practicality. Perfectionism does not blend with it as much. As discussed previously, perfectionists procrastinate so they take longer to achieve a task or a project, while a company needs deadline adherence.

Progress comes hand in hand with the way companies run. It fosters growth as people learn constantly and develop plans for some of their shortcomings. Progress celebrates small achievements, not only big achievements, as it will encourage people to push forward. The very basic purpose of progress is forward movement. The focus is always to tackle the project or task as people go by, and by this, the fear of failing is let go for such fear would push backward.

Progress or Perfection in financial modeling

Financial modeling requires estimates of budgets for projects in a few years. Adapting a perfectionist approach to the financial model is an impossible task. The model can never reach unrealistic expectations, and you will spend more time and not achieve the goal you set. While with progress, adapting a financial model and following it up frequently would reveal the strengths and weaknesses in your model. Based on that, improvements can be made, and you learn from some of the mistakes you did.

Set boundaries and priorities

Setting up healthy boundaries as you work, by assigning time limits for projects. It might translate to a certain number of projects per month and stick to the boundary you put. Setting priorities is also a crucial point to be considered. For example, the company has priorities for projects to be done that covers the budget and human resources. Perfectionism in terms of priorities would exceed the budgets and cause workers burnout.

Written by: Farah Barakat