A perfectionist is someone who demands perfection in everything he or she does. While this is definitely a good characteristic highly valued by many individuals, it may not necessary be a good trait to have especially if you are a self employed individual or a businessman.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer in always improving yourself but being perfect is another issue. No one is perfect if you get what I mean. Certain situations at certain times requires urgency in the job completion as opposed to having the job done to perfection. If you are in the field long enough, you would have understand that things can never be perfect. Each individual has his or her own definitions of perfection. The least you should be able to do is to finished the job in a fashion or manner that is satisfactory to every parties involve.

I’m sure that you have heard of this phrase “Time is Money” many times before and this is something that you should take note. Let’s say you are a carpenter who is being engaged to build 10 wooden tables within a time frame. The faster you complete the job, the faster you will get your money and also at the same time you can move on  to another project. Imagine if you are a perfectionist, the time taken to complete the job would definitely be longer resulting in loss of income and also opportunity costs. Your wooden tables do not need to be build to perfection, rather they should be sturdy enough to withstand usuage for a certain period time and at the very least reach or exceed your customer’s expectations. There is no extra money for making them perfect.

Maybe the example above may not be a good one. Ok, let’s me give you a better one. I’m sure you know or heard of Microsoft, developer of softwares such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, Office 2007 and others. I suppose if you are reading this, Microsoft is a name that you should know. Every time Microsoft released a new OS, it is always buggy and they knew it. But why do Microsoft released it in the first place.

Because Microsoft understand the urgency of speed and haste in getting their products out to the market even though these products are not perfect. Microsoft want to garner a bigger market share instead of having their competitors erode their presence. Opportunity costs and other factors play a big part here. While I may not fully comprehend the full extend of their business decisions, this is something that you should take note of. Imagine how long they will take to release a perfect version of their products , it would take months if not years. And by then, most likely their competitors may have come out something better and Microsoft’s products become obsolete resulting in loss of revenue. And Microsoft always come out with patches later to rectify all the bugs.

Personally, I have this tendency of overdoing things and trying to get them perfect. While this is not necessary a bad thing, I have become much wiser to understand that certain things are beyond my control and also the importance of the phrase ” Time is Money”.

That is why it is important for you to understand not to ever get caught in trying to become a perfectionist.  So are you a perfectionist?