Progress vs. Perfection

Winston Churchill once said that “Perfection is the enemy of progress.”? I agree and I like to say that “Perfection is the enemy of greatness.”? I would rather pursue progress and greatness instead of perfection.? I love this quote because it highlights where I get hung up, and sometimes make excuse when things don’t get done.? I say things like “the timing wasn’t right”, or “I was waiting until I had more information”.? My grandpa used to say “If you are going to do it, do it right!” ?I agree with that up to a point.? We are never going to do things perfectly so I prefer: “If you are going to do it, do it well!”

October 18, we launched the first session in our Leadership Training 101 series at ESS Clean.? This is a goal we set back in November of 2022.? I procrastinated on it a bit. ?July rolled around and I realized I needed to get on it and fast.? Brittany Babbs and I put together some materials, worked on the program and did a trial run with the management team. ?We announced the dates and requirements for the class and started taking registrations.

The last two weeks before our first class was a flurry of activity as I struggled to purchase all of the books we needed.? The admin team had to call all of the participants to clarify a few things, and all of us pulled together the last minute details for the lesson and the logistics.

Our first class was a huge success!? We had 30 participants at our Urbana training facility.? Participants drove from all over Illinois and Indiana.? There were a few bumps, but in all, the first night went well.? We had a good time.? We had enough seats (barely), and everyone got to eat.?

I am very pleased with how things turned out and how all of our participants showed up ready and engaged.? It did not go perfectly, not even close, but it was a good experience, and it is now off the ground.? To be completely honest, we only have the first two lessons fully built out and will be working on the next four over the coming months, but I am so pleased that we did it. ?We did not wait for it to be perfect.? We pulled the trigger.? This is progress!