Math says that 1+1 = 2, but reality is more complex than that. Reality isn't merely about numbers, it's about things that cannot be accurately accounted for.
Emotions, intelligence, strength, character, motivation, all these things, we can attempt to make into a math problem but we'll never quite be able to measure or solve them with 100% accuracy.
As humans, we are married to the belief that perfection exists, this illusion that something, someone, or some system can be flawless if only enough effort, control, or intelligence is applied has created more mess than accepting that perfection doesn't exist and the best design state we can get is one that is close enough, fast enough and not perfect.
Many times in life, everything measurable in the world involves hidden trade-offs and limitations.
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” This is a famous saying by the legendary Mike Tyson, that has been cited many times because it challenges the illusion of control through “perfect planning” that clouds the judgements of people and effectively how their life pans out.
As another saying goes “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy” — the perfect plan crumbles in practice because theories, irrespective of how many compromise or unpleasant expectations are accounted for, will come crashing in practice, what ends up saving the day is a couple of other things, depending on the situation, these could include anything from thinking on one's feet to iteration.
Thinking on one's feet
What happens when your perfectly laid out business plan gets pulled apart by a potential investor during a pitch?
Thinking on your feet is how you wiggle out of such situations, not perfect planning. Maybe the math doesn't add up, now you have to quickly make up a number and a compelling excuse for why what you presented isn't accurate.
What would have traditionally required several layers of research and calculations to be armed with the perfect numbers, will now have to stick with quick math which is close enough.
Iteration
A business plan is great, but it rarely survives contact with customers. A 2013 Harvard Business Review study—Lean Startup—highlights this, where it is cited that as much as 75% of start-ups fail, proving that the odds of succeeding are not with you simply because of some perfect business plan.
Setbacks are to be expected, and while faced with this, the only thing that works is iteration.
The lean start-up is a strategy that favors experimentation over elaborate planning, customer feedback over intuition, and iterative design over traditional “big design up front” development.
Doing it fast beats doing it perfectly because it promotes failing forward, a mindset and practice of learning from mistakes, analyzing what went wrong, adjusting, and moving ahead smarter.
Your business strategy is only as good as your customer feedback. Your aim improves only as good as your application of adjustments to practice misses.
Perfection is an illusion, building to adapt and scale with new data is pretty much the only smart strategy.
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