Imperfectly Done, But Done

There was an American general during World War II who was quoted to have said, "A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed next week." The words may not be exact, but you definitely catch the drift. And that is a characteristic of achievers, of those who get ahead.

They're decisive; they get enough information, and they act. Some people call them impetuous. Of course, the ground they cover compared to a normal person is incredible—but they get enough information, they make a decision, and they move on it.

That's a trait that you can develop, too. How do you develop decisiveness when you haven't had it? Well, I call it the appointment technique. Make an appointment with yourself that starting tonight, or tomorrow, or this weekend, or in the next business meeting, whenever it is, you're going to make a decision.

You're going to think something through, get the best evidence/organization together that you can, briefly. You're going to decide, within a certain specified period of time.

Remember, make an appointment—tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, next business meeting. You're going to make a decision, and you're going to present that decision and that motive on living, that motive on business—whatever it pertains to—until something tells you that you should change.

Now, if you're making decisions, it's always going to incorporate a change. And a change always means you'll have to let go of the status quo. And if you had any troubles getting outside your comfort zone, you're going to be presenting yourself with challenges.

But that's okay, because you have no problems in your life—only challenges, opportunities. The whole story is that you want to move on something, whatever it relates to. You're making a decision, in the course of daily business or progressing and planning, and moving forward.

Not making a decision is making a decision, too.

You make an appointment. Look at how many decisions are made in Washington. They've got today to make the decision—and they make the decision today. I wouldn't say the boardrooms are all that different. In spite of the fact that we're all engaged thoroughly and planning on 5-year, 10-year, even 20-year plans—we do have those plans—we're living in the moment.

So I tell you, imperfectly done. We can always adjust, adapt. It will be always be imperfectly done the first time it's done, no matter how well we rehearse, because we just can't know. By the way, I don't mean always, because that's not true either. But we're flexible. What does it matter to us if it doesn't go perfectly?

Well, it depends, of course, on the environment—but if we're in a high-stress environment, we would practice and rehearse first, wouldn't we, like musicians and performers do? Are business people that different? No.

Look—imperfectly done, but done. That's the thing. Imperfectly done, you can do it again. You can practice, you can rehearse, you can revise what you put out.

Hey, you are spectacular, and I know you do it!
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