Jan
12
2012

Zig Ziglar on Leadership: Waiting for Perfection

An article by Matt Comments

Yesterday I began a short series on what Zig Ziglar can teach church leaders. The series is based off of a podcast that I listened to over my Christmas break, and one which I really believe can impact the way that we approach leadership in our church. Now, keep in mind that Zig generally speaks to sales professionals, not pastors, and while I am NOT encouraging you to become a salesman for Jesus, I do see a value in honing our craft through learning from other professions. Yesterday I shared a little bit about believing in what we do. Today I want to talk a little bit about our tendency to wait for perfection.

One of the more striking lines to me from Ziglar’s The Real Reason They Don’t Buy podcast (link will open iTunes) was this:

If we wait until all the lights are on green before we head for town you are going to spend the rest of your life right here at home.

The Chinese put it this way: a journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step.

Whether you are planting a church, starting a new ministry, negotiating a significant change for your organization, or preparing a sermon, our tendency is to attempt to make everything line up perfectly before we make a move. The problem with this mindset is that things just don’t perfectly line up this side of heaven… and so we wait, and wait, and a great idea goes to waste. I like how Seth Godin put it on his blog in June of this past year:

How do you know when it’s done?

Of course, it’s not done. It’s never done.

That’s not the right question.

The question is: when is it good enough?

Good enough, for those that seek perfection, is what we call it when it’s sufficient to surpass the standards we’ve set. Anything beyond good enough is called stalling and a waste of time.

If you don’t like your definition of ‘good enough’, then feel free to change that, but the goal before shipping is merely that. Not perfect.

I love Seth’s line: Anything beyond good enough is called stalling and a waste of time.

What are YOU holding back because it isn’t perfect?