The Big Picture and the Small Details
In the process of making something you hope to share with people, two contradictory messages compete for our attention. One message is all about how nothing you make will ever be perfect, so you should move forward at all costs.
You are getting in your own way. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Move fast and break things.
On the surface, it’s a hard argument to challenge. Most of us do get in our own way, and the best way to avoid getting stuck in details is to force your way past.
The other message is about how quality matters, and therefore details matter. Great work isn’t supposed to be easy.
Great artists (using the term loosely) are obsessed with details. They go beyond the basics. They don’t write three drafts, they write twelve. They spend years on a single album, with the goal of seeing the work stand the test of time. They are prolific, yes, but they are also picky.
It’s hard to argue with that either, you know? Because quality does matter! Or at least it should.
And therein lies the challenge. These messages both contain truth, yet they seem fundamentally opposed to each other.
If you’re focused on perfection, you’ll never ship anything. If you’re happy with shipping subpar work, and you don’t mind “breaking things,” well, good luck with ever making something that will outlast you.
Most things of lasting value require labor that iterates over time—hardworking labor but also patience and the willingness to keep going. All the “likes” on your social media post will not add up to a legacy.
My theory is that navigating this chasm is one of the biggest challenges anyone faces in trying to put something out to the world.
Most people get stuck on one side or the other, never finding the proper tension point.
a. They get stuck trying to be perfect and nothing gets done, or
b. They embrace the “just go for it” school of thinking so much that they never really improve
So instead of getting stuck or failing to improve, my sense is that most people who successfully “create and share” live somewhere within this tension.
From time to time, we hear one of the two competing messages, and it resonates. When we’ve been too much of a perfectionist, we love the “Just ship!” message. It’s true, I gotta stop obsessing and find a way to move forward
But when we want to dive into our work and create something meaningful / beautiful / resonant / etc., we’re more attracted to the “Details matter” message. I’m tired of just making something and moving on. I want to immerse myself and make something BETTER.
I know you probably didn’t want to hear “You have to worry about both things”—but that is in fact the answer.
Your work will never be perfect (so yes, might as well share it before it’s fully “ready”) but if you want to be proud of it, it will probably take more effort than you’d like.
Such is life and the creative process. Move at moderate speed and if something breaks, try to fix it. (It doesn’t sound quite as catchy as Zuckerberg’s version, I know.)
The other answer, of course, is to settle in on either side. Nothing wrong with that—most people settle. You could choose to be the person who “puts things out there and moves on,” not caring about the worth or value of those things. Or you could be the reclusive perfectionist who fails to release control.
It’s just that I’ve tried being both of these people at different times, and neither one felt quite right. Living in the point of tension is, well, better.
So if you too want to show up fully and do your best work, I’m hear to say that it might be awkward at times, but this is the best way.
If you don’t want to settle, then you need to get to work.
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