Finish What You Start!

Did you ever hire a contractor who promised your home  renovations would be finished in two weeks?  The job was complicated and you were delighted to hear it would be completed in less time than anticipated.  Two weeks came and went, and finally after eight more weeks the project was done.  The contractor was chagrined that he was so tardy in fulfilling expectations.  You found yourself frustrated and angry, knowing he’d been working on other contracts while your project languished.  What was missing?   Completion!

When you fail to finish what you start, more damage than simply compromising the product happens.  Sending the message “I promise lots but I don’t deliver” is unflattering to your reputation and also results in folks not trusting you and not regarding you as responsible.  This can be the death knell for small businesses, particularly startups.  

It’s important to know what kind of a person you are when it comes to managing tendencies to start a project but not finish it.   Some folks regard themselves as energetic initiators while others identify themselves as better with establishing a product and keeping it going.  The former can be seen as “idea person” while the latter identifies with being a “mechanic”…he finds it hard to come up with new ideas for a product but is terrific at keeping things running once the product is ready for distribution.  Which of these will most likely be the one to see the project through to completion?  The one to whom it comes naturally to establish the product and then keep it going, not the “idea person”.  

There’s always trouble when folks let their perfectionism get in the way of finishing what was started.  Perfectionistic people often have a hard time letting go of a project and moving it along because “it’s just not perfect enough”.  Perfectionism is a blueprint for unhappiness and self-hatred.  The truth is that perfection is never possible on our human plane.  I would much prefer we strive for “excellence”.  If this is our motivation then we can work hard and then let go, knowing the product is the best we have to offer.  Then we can say “Nothing is perfect, but this product is excellent…and that’s good enough for me”.