As entrepreneurs even though we have more tasks than time, we lose perspective and become perfectionists about every detail. When it is our baby, we want everything to be perfect. Unfortunately,  this is not a once in a while lapse. It happens every day. This is debilitating enough when it is just you, but it can be disastrous when you develop a disdain for anyone who works with you who doesn’t bring the same intensity to every detail. Regardless of whether the people we are working with have slept or been paid a market salary, we expect perfection at every step of the process. We develop a mania around perfection and attention to detail that is misplaced.

During IncentOne’s early days, we created a slick marketing package that highlighted the values of being part of our service. The package mimicked the blue and gold color scheme of our logo. In those days, when marketing packages needed to be printed in large quantities, they were run on huge presses like the ones on Varick Street in New York City we were using.

The first run of the materials seemed a bit off in the colors and my brother and I asked the company to adjust them. We asked them to adjust the colors over and over. I am sure a few times they never changed the color and just represented the same ones to us to make us stop. At one point, they even told us that it depended on the lighting, even though the lighting had not changed. Every time we asked for a change, we went cross the street to the twenty-four-hour diner where my brother and I debated the color palate. I think we hold the record for the most food eaten between midnight and 6 a.m. By the end of the night, which was around 6 a.m., the production guys in the print shop were trying to figure out how to kill my brother and I and hide the bodies in the vats of paint. No jury would have convicted them. Needless to say, we had lost perspective.

No one wants an ugly baby. While attention to detail is a good thing, taking it too far can stifle progress, and doesn’t make the baby any better looking.

Join our community by clicking here to receive daily The Lonely Entrepreneur Blogs that help with the struggle and empower you to thrive.