Hey there!
We hope this newsletter finds you well and ready for another dose of our ongoing, unique experience navigating the development of our young company, VitalWise Technology Solutions. Our goal for this newsletter is to give you an inside look into the daily challenges, decisions, and emotions that come with being the leader of your own company in today’s world. We acknowledge that we’re young and definitely don’t have all the answers to the challenges we face, but we wanted to give you all the chance to learn from our experiences (and for us to learn from your perspectives) with this platform. To depict a little more clearly the exact intention of this newsletter, let’s use the common leadership analogy of a sailing ship. On a ship, there are shipmates, whose work allows the ship to function and operate smoothly, and a captain, who steers and navigates the ship to determine where it is headed. Similarly, in our society, the majority of working roles are operational in nature to help an organization function how it is “supposed to.” However, only a privileged few get the opportunity to determine strategy and the direction of an organization – to decide how an organization is “supposed to” operate in the first place. As recent grads, we understand the opportunity we have with being founders of our own company at this stage in our careers is a privilege and unique opportunity, and we hope to share it with you all! With this newsletter, we hope to uncover the truths of what it’s like to be the captain and to steer the ship, and hopefully learn a lot together along the way. Today, we're diving headfirst into a topic that's near and dear to our hearts: the pursuit of perfection, or more specifically, why we've learned to let it go.
Perfection: The Elusive Dream
Picture this: You're on a rocket ship hurtling through the cosmos, aiming for the stars. The fuel in your tanks? Perfection. It sounds fantastic, right? But here's the catch—perfection is like trying to grab stardust with oven mitts. It slips through your fingers, no matter how hard you try.
In the world of growing companies, the pursuit of perfection can be a tantalizing but treacherous rabbit hole. We've discovered that the more we chase perfection, the farther away it seems. Why? Because while we're busy perfecting every nook and cranny of our product or service, we're not actually launching it into the world for others to use and provide feedback.
The Paralysis of Analysis
Imagine you're crafting a gourmet meal. You obsess over every ingredient, every seasoning, and every cooking technique. But in the process, the food gets cold, and your guests are left waiting at the table, hungry and impatient. This is what happens when a company fixates on perfection—they get stuck in analysis paralysis. Even though it’s still early in our company’s life cycle, we have already noticed the paralysis of over-analysis. While working on a project, it is certainly possible to sit and think of all the possible edge cases, potential issues, and anticipatory troubleshooting we may have to do. But, we have found that this approach has yielded only a slightly better initial product, in much more time. Instead, when we have decided to jump-in and start developing and building our solutions, while continuously adapting our approach to incorporate oversights – our success has been markedly better.
As humans – a creature rooted in making errors – when we strive for perfection: we overthink, overanalyze, and over-engineer. We try to predict every possible hiccup and edge case, so much so that we never serve the delicious meal to our customers. Time drags on, opportunities are missed, and frustrations mount.
Embracing the Beautiful Chaos
Here's the twist: mistakes and imperfections aren't the enemies of progress—they're the architects of it. Like wildflowers growing through the cracks in the pavement, they have a way of pushing us forward in unexpected and beautiful ways. In the working world, making a mistake is one of the biggest no-no’s to exist. No one wants to be the team member who flawed the project, no one wants to be responsible for an oversight, and being imperfect is an ingrained taboo. In our experience as young entrepreneurs, we have come to realize the true value each mistake brings. Instead of being afraid to make the mistake, we have come to be excited on how the mistake we have made can propel us into uncharted territory.
Every hiccup, every error, and every issue is an opportunity. An opportunity to learn, adapt, and ultimately, improve. In the tech world, we've seen this time and time again. Bugs in our code, glitches in our software, and hiccups in our services—they're not roadblocks; they're stepping stones on the path to excellence. Yes, of course we want to give our client the best possible product and service at all times. However, we have found that admitting our error and showcasing our determination to be better wins over clients more effectively than the alternative.
Feedback: The Golden Ticket
As I mentioned, our clients are our absolute priority. Without them, we cease to exist. At every step, we want to listen and accommodate our clients so that they know we are truly working with them and not for them. Through our several client engagements thus far: we've come to understand the power of feedback. Our clients are the compass guiding us toward better solutions, and as the captains of the ship we need to be consistently paying attention to our compass. When we listen to their concerns, ideas, and suggestions, we're gifted with insights we'd never discover in our perfectionist echo chamber.
Client feedback is the ultimate reality check. It reminds us that perfection is a moving target, but progress is a journey worth taking. So, we're not striving for perfection anymore; we're aiming to be better. And in that pursuit, we're building stronger relationships with those who matter most—our clients.
The Takeaway
In a nutshell, here's the VitalWise Technology mantra: Perfection is a mirage. It's an alluring oasis that can lead us astray. Instead, let's embrace the messiness of growth. Let's launch our products, invite feedback, and use every mistake as a stepping stone toward a brighter, better future. Take a look at the chart above: the growth after making a mistake is unprecedented. Over time, the path of making mistakes and harnessing those mistakes as opportunities to grow puts you and your company in a better position in the same amount of time than making no mistakes at all.
Remember, it's not about being perfect from the get-go; it's about always striving to be better. So, let's keep our sailing ship pointed toward the ever-changing destination, and even if we don't reach it right away, we'll be one step closer with each passing day.
Here's to embracing the beautiful chaos of growth!
Until next time,
The VitalWise Tech Team 🌟
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