Stop Producing Great Work

18 replies
Within a few short minutes. I want to tamper with the status quo. To sell you on an idea that's not so hard to understand but pretty difficult to accept. Took me a long time to accept too. Because school has taught us that the best students get the best grades. And what we find out in the real world scenario is that its not necessarily true. The best people don't always get the best results. Usually not the case.


You'll find that one of those things that limit execution is the desire to produce something great.


The impression that if its great a lot of people would like it. Nothing has been further from the truth.


Everyone is creative. But only a few people actually execute. Creativity is essentially a lack of the "fear to be perfect". And its rare because everyone is engrossed in their own head. The reason why we don't execute is because we think people won't like what we create.


Because in essence, we are focused on getting them to buy into our idea or pay us. In reality, the 80-20 rule applies everywhere. Only 20% of people are going to pay you and those 20% aren't interested in how perfect your product or content is. They are interested in solving a need - their own need.


The way to build a long term brand is executing day in, day out. Being focused on quantity as regards those things that are working and spending little time on quality. Because quality is subjective.


And there will potentially be room to go back and optimize. Everything is optimizable, even humans.
#great #producing #stop #work
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  • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
    Well, that's one way to try to get a quick start. But I do not believe it is a good way to build a long-term brand reputation and customer loyalty.

    In my 38 years in business, I have focused on quality, not quantity, day in and day out. Every single assignment, every single day. And it has paid off big for me. I have a reputation for excellence, creativity and integrity.

    The 20% of customers you mentioned who will actually buy - in my case, many of those have followed me for decades. Others have never bought anything from me but because they know how dependably smart and conscientious I am, they recommend me to others. That would not happen had I proceeded with the attitude you describe.

    Marcia Yudkin
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelQuinn
    I think that the answer lies somewhere closer to the middle. I agree with the fear of being perfect preventing execution, but I don't agree with choosing quantity over quality because it isn't sustainable in the long term. It's a way to make a quick buck, but it's not really satisfying or fulfilling overall in my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author Medon
    I think the first step is the most important one. So focusing on producing something great will only kill your dream. The best you should do is to come up with something. Later we will find a way of improving and perfecting it.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    OP seems to be saying that Quality CAN NEVER be quantified.

    Sure, it may be subjective but you can at least reduce it to some numbers.

    For example, when it comes to BLOG POSTS, you can QUANTIFY the quality of your content through BOUNCE RATE and DWELL TIME

    As Google's ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/MACHINE LEARNING ramps up, the factors above will get stronger and stronger

    I suggest building a brand on QUALITY
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    • Profile picture of the author sparrow
      As Google's ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/MACHINE LEARNING ramps up, the factors above will get stronger and stronger
      I'm in agreement about the new ranking signals UX is the new SEO and the more user interactions you can get on your website the better it will rank, so creating quality content is important.

      It does not have to be perfect but if your going to get reactions from your visitors it need to be good enough for your audience
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  • Profile picture of the author NetMan
    Well, it's a way to see things.

    For my part, I cannot stand producing mediocre work and / or products / services, I cannot even conceive how one can push out such quality level out there. For me, just one bar under high-quality equals mediocre. Yet, there are PLENTY of it all around us nowadays, in all spheres of our modern society on top of that! Separating, demarcating, and elevating oneself like a shining star from and above the crowd is very NOT difficult, just put up QUALITY-high-quality-WORK in all aspect of what you are doing.

    I do not recall who said that, but let's pretend I say this today; "wanna be successful? Just observe what the best in your industry is doing, and DO BETTER..." I think that speaks a lot!

    Cheers!
    Andy
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    Originally Posted by TobbyJimmy View Post

    Within a few short minutes. I want to tamper with the status quo. To sell you on an idea that's not so hard to understand but pretty difficult to accept. Took me a long time to accept too. Because school has taught us that the best students get the best grades. And what we find out in the real world scenario is that its not necessarily true. The best people don't always get the best results. Usually not the case.


    You'll find that one of those things that limit execution is the desire to produce something great.


    The impression that if its great a lot of people would like it. Nothing has been further from the truth.


    Everyone is creative. But only a few people actually execute. Creativity is essentially a lack of the "fear to be perfect". And its rare because everyone is engrossed in their own head. The reason why we don't execute is because we think people won't like what we create.


    Because in essence, we are focused on getting them to buy into our idea or pay us. In reality, the 80-20 rule applies everywhere. Only 20% of people are going to pay you and those 20% aren't interested in how perfect your product or content is. They are interested in solving a need - their own need.


    The way to build a long term brand is executing day in, day out. Being focused on quantity as regards those things that are working and spending little time on quality. Because quality is subjective.


    And there will potentially be room to go back and optimize. Everything is optimizable, even humans.
    I totally get what you're saying and agree for the most part, I'd just phrase it differently.

    Obviously, you want to deliver great work and should always strive to do such, but you shouldn't let perfectionism stop you from shipping fast. Besides, it's only the first version of what it is you created. The second version is bound to be better. You don't get just one crack at it.
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    • Profile picture of the author TobbyJimmy
      Yes. Its a pretty good summary. The idea is selectively focusing on quality while executing more. Like Seth Godin said; "The price of error is less than the price of inaction".
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      • Profile picture of the author Odahh
        Originally Posted by TobbyJimmy View Post

        Yes. Its a pretty good summary. The idea is selectively focusing on quality while executing more. Like Seth Godin said; "The price of error is less than the price of inaction".
        I fully understand what you are trying to say .

        But you are presenting it wrong .

        When musicians and bands go to record a new album they write 50 or 60 songs and the best 10-12 make it to the album .

        The final 3 hour movie for avengers endgame was edited together from thousands of hours of film .

        The real message or title should be to produce great work you need to create a lot of crap . And mold the crap into better work.
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        • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
          Originally Posted by Odahh View Post

          I fully understand what you are trying to say .
          But you are presenting it wrong .
          This was only his first attempt at the thread. He'll get better.


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          • Profile picture of the author Odahh
            Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

            This was only his first attempt at the thread. He'll get better.


            Or it will be three pages of him repeating Seth godin quotes
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  • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
    The idea is selectively focusing on quality while executing more. Like Seth Godin said; "The price of error is less than the price of inaction".
    Unfortunately, your overly dramatic headline "Stop Producing Great Work" and saying "quality is subjective" invite carelessness, not errors. These are two different things, especially when it comes to attitude and behavior.

    Someone (like Seth Godin) who is willing to accept an occasional mistake is not the same as the person who doesn't care about quality. I've seen all too many of the latter type in these parts, and your post gives them encouragement.

    Marcia Yudkin
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    Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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    • Profile picture of the author TobbyJimmy
      Well, you can search for the quote. He used the word 'error' not mistake. BTW, I don't see a difference between error and 'mistake'. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody makes errors in judgment. Seth Godin will always say he worked on many ideas that failed. No one heard of those. But the few that were successful helped build his personal brand. So while I'm not talking about pitting in shoddy effort at everything you do. This post is really about perfectionism and the idea that 'great work' only exists in our heads. The crux: Give your best to everything you do but keep shipping.
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  • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
    True, l keep trying to be perfect in trading, but most of the time, my entry is fair to good, and exit may be to early.

    I still end up in the green, but not as much as l would like.

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  • Profile picture of the author Toshio Haruto
    On the off chance that you quit doing restful exercises, you'll become much progressively exhausted with your work, lose center, and even become angry of your work since it is all that you are doing. To do your best work, you should be upbeat and to do that, you need time for all the significant things throughout your life.
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  • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
    This post is really about perfectionism
    Had you said in your headline, "Forget About Perfectionism," I would not have jumped in to comment. It was your word choice that got me to object. "Great Work" is never perfect. These are two separate concepts.

    I suppose word choice is one of those things that, according to the original poster, one shouldn't worry about.

    I do worry about it, and it's not only how I have earned my living for 35+ years but also something that I truly believe matters in the real world. Seriously. People die because some other people throw around words that they don't really mean (or say they don't mean). Words have consequences. Here and everywhere else.

    Marcia Yudkin
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    Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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  • Profile picture of the author Medon
    You are right. The moment we learn to execute all our plans that is the day we will succeed. We all have very good dreams but very few of us take steps that can make the dreams come true. So lets be creative and try all the ideas that cross our mind without worrying about failure.
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Success seems to be energy from my take. Some successes online write 10,000 word posts every 8 months. Others publish 10, 600 word posts daily. "Great" is in the energy-eye of the reader, customer or client. Humans vibing from fear and lack believe - as entrepreneurs - "great" means working 10 or 20 hours to create something viral. But abundant entrepreneurs understand it is not what you do, but how you feel while doing it that creates success. Fun, freeing lesson to learn and to put into practice.

    I do vibe with daily executing; make sure it is fun. Hit happy singles to succeed, versus desperately swinging for the fences once every month.
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