Some individuals spend their working days attempting to avoid making errors, yet their work suffers as a result of their inability to achieve perfection. They make fewer mistakes in the end, but they achieve less because they spend so much time trying to make everything flawless. In business, time is money. Doing a good job today is better than the potential of a great job tomorrow.
Jon Bon Jovi’s career may have ended before it even began if he hadn’t grasped this idea. In 1983, he was just 21 years old when he won a radio station contest to record his debut song. He promptly created a band and published a first record the following year, which went gold. Suddenly, they were performing at Madison Square Garden as the opening act for ZZ Top. They hurriedly recorded a second album in order to strike while the iron was still hot. It was released to mixed reviews in 1985. Jon was dissatisfied with the record and desired to improve it, but time was crucial. In 1986, the band overcame this stumbling block and published a better-written and produced third album. Jon was still dissatisfied with the record since he didn’t think one song in particular was worthy of inclusion. He was fortunate in that he listened to folks who understood the commercial side of music. “You Give Love a Bad Name” was the title of the song. It went on to become one of the band’s most well-known songs, and it helped propel the album to the top of the charts. This catapulted them to superstardom, with over 100 million records sold as a result. They may have lost their record label’s backing if they had waited till the second album was flawless before moving on to the third.
Tom Scholz, a rock icon, experienced something similar. He’s been dubbed “the brightest man in rock & roll history” on several occasions. He graduated from MIT with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and is credited as an inventor on 34 patents in the United States. His band Boston’s debut album, released in 1976, sold over 16 million copies and is still the best-selling debut record in history. It’s also regarded as one of the best-produced rock albums of all time. Scholz performed all of the instruments on the album and produced it himself. He’s a gifted and intelligent individual. He’s also a stickler for detail, taking eight years to complete his third record. After a year of waiting, CBS/Epic Records sued him for breach of contract and pulled Boston from their roster.
It’s fine to have high expectations as long as they’re reasonable. It’s not acceptable to wait until everything is perfect before proceeding. Even if you’re a brilliant scientist or a great music singer, the engine of business doesn’t have time to wait for you to do everything just right. Payroll must be fulfilled and deadlines must be met. Employees who are highly respected do not usually make fewer mistakes they are trusted to get the job done and on time. In fact, they frequently make more mistakes, since the frequency of errors rises in tandem with production. They simply know how to do it correctly.
It’s fine to make mistakes as long as:
- They’re reasonable mistakes to make.
- You catch your own mistakes.
- You correct your own mistakes.
- You accept responsibility.
- You don’t blame others.
- You don’t make excuses.
- You don’t hide your mistakes from your boss.
- You don’t repeat the same mistakes.
- You apologize when it’s appropriate.
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