Edition 10 - Is Your Obsession with Perfection Costing You Success?

A leader that I worked with and deeply admired while explaining their decision-making philosophy told me, “Done is better than perfect.” It was the first time I heard this phrase, and its simplicity struck a chord. The message was clear: don't obsess over the tech, build fast, ship fast, get user feedback, and repeat.

The above advice got me thinking about team performance indicators, focus areas, and the rituals that impact them. Over the years, I’ve identified key indicators that can make or break a team’s success:

1. Aiming for the perfect solution and missing timelines: Leaders focusing solely on technological excellence often miss the balance between delivery and people.

2. Constant firefighting: Frequent issues in production and high regression rates indicate a lack of visibility, planning, and innovation. Leaders aren’t focusing enough on delivery and technological excellence.

3. Burnt-out team, low morale: Extreme focus on delivery without attention to technology, innovation, and people leads to burnout and low morale.

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Identifying the above issues is one thing, but turning the ship around is another challenge. This is where rituals come in. Rituals intentionally provide value to what you hold important, driving momentum in that direction.

I’ve crafted a questionnaire for leaders to understand the rituals and practices valued within their teams and organisations. The results, combined with symptoms like missed deadlines and constant firefighting, will highlight actionable steps for positive change.

Questionnaire

Feel free to duplicate the Google sheet and share it with your team. Remember to remove the “Focus Area” column before it.

Here’s an example of what the form should look like: Form

DATA TALES

Spotify, known for its successful agile practices, has a well-defined set of rituals that include weekly planning, daily standups, bi-weekly backlog refinement, and monthly retrospectives. These rituals help the company balance delivery, technology, and people priorities.

WHAT I’M READING

I'm currently reading "Hope Is Not a Strategy: The 6 Keys to Winning the Complex Sale" by Rick Page, a compelling guide on mastering the art of selling complex, high-tech products and services. The book offers practical insights into navigating sophisticated sales processes, emphasizing strategic approaches over mere optimism.

HAPPENINGS AT WEDNESDAY

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Hi, I’m Mohammed Ali Chherawalla (Mac), Co-founder & CTO at Wednesday Solutions, a specialized engineering services company with a focus on Applied AI, Data, and Application Modernization. I make it a point to read every message from my subscribers, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts with me.