As a recovering perfectionist, I was quietly shocked at the concept of ‘taking imperfect action’ and having it discussed and actually recommended as a strategy to a room full of entrepreneurs… And we’re not talking about forgetting to use a spell-checker here!
I have always tried to have it all together and thought that that was synonymous with being professional, being good at your job, being reliable, building your reputation, etc. To have a room full of people discussing that it’s not only OK to take imperfect action, but as an entrepreneur in this day and age, it’s encouraged and expected, that you are producing content and trying out new ways of being and doing it with full visibility to your tribe/community. That trying something new and launching before all the kinks are worked out and all the concerns are known and addressed, was not only fine, but innovative and inevitable. On the flip-side of course, is also the question, are you hiding behind perfectionism and using it as an excuse, to not move forward? Are you still tweaking and fussing with that program, or report, or e-book, to avoid getting it out in the world and having it maybe not be received well, or just flat-out terrified of the judgements and opinions of others?
The idea of the imperfect action to me, was both shocking and liberating… Shocking that it was finally being, not only discussed, but encouraged. Liberating of course, what a relief! What if I could take a leaf from that book and be OK with trying out new ideas, re-doing my programs or offerings, taking surveys and asking for feedback, on a regular basis? Would my tribe not only be OK with that, would they participate and engage with me? Well, I guess I am asking you and time will tell. :0)
I will be asking you for feedback from time to time and I would love to ask you to take a survey sometimes… After all, it would be great to be able to write to you addressing your questions or concerns, rather than guessing what might be of interest? And best of all, the interaction would be great!
So, where in your business might you have been hiding in perfectionism? What imperfect action can you take in your business today, if you knew it would be OK? What if you knew that your tribe don’t expect you to be perfect and in fact love to know that you are a real human being and make mistakes, just like they do. That in fact your sharing your mistakes, as well as your successes, lets them know that it’s OK for them to be human too?