Precision.

I’m a details man, anyone that knows me would tell you that. I care about grids, kerning, line-height and everything else in between… down to the very pixel that something aligns itself too. Many would argue that this is one of my greatest strengths. In the last week or so I’ve been pondering this idea of precision. Is it really my strength or perhaps my greatest weakness?

I heard a wonderful quote that brought a lot of this into focus for me:

It’s easy to let Great get in the way of Good

In our pursuit of greatness we can be burning up resources that will in the end slow us down, if not stop us all together from finishing the task at hand. When Jeff Stewart made the statement above he was referencing a project in which he refused to release a product until it was great, or in other words perfect. By the time it got there the market had passed him up, it was too late, and the product eventually failed.

There are times for precision, I’m not arguing against it completely or even for the most part. I’m currently in the middle of building a set of chairs and table for our youngest daughter. If I’m not precise in the right areas (how the legs line up, how balanced the sides are, etc.) the table and chairs will end up being useless to her. But if I’m too precise and I refuse to use any piece of wood that doesn’t have the perfect amount of grain or is completely unblemished, I’ll never complete the project.

So for me, it’s (like many things in life) a balancing act. Be precise in the things that require precision and be willing to let it be good in the areas in which precision aren’t absolutely critical.