Perfect vs Good, Building the Bike as you Ride it, A Client Base of One

Each fortnight I share a small insight or two that has piqued my interest, inspired me or
provoked me in respect to business, motivation, or other areas of life. I share this with the
hope that you may gain some insight or learn something that might get you thinking. It’s
great for me because it allows me to consolidate some of my thinking on some of the things
that have been rattling around in my head!
This week I have decided to share the three statements that got Independent Agent off the
ground.

Perfect Vs Good
I have heard that if you can achieve perfection then why shouldn’t you. Yes, probably true!
However, the inability to achieve perfection can be used as an excuse to not even start. It is
my view that this is a great way to get nowhere.
The notion that your first attempt, iteration or version needs to be perfect or somehow
‘right’ stops most people from even getting started. I find myself ‘not doing’ because I have
the same concern.
It was eye-opening for me to recently hear Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the world’s most
valuable company recently speaking on the Tim Ferriss Show (link here) about how he has
built Facebook through iterations, and how it is simply accepted in his industry and
company that the version of any technology that we now enjoy will be improved upon in
the very near future.
And so be it trying to develop a new habit, stop a bad one, or build a company, a career or a
business, you are going to want to be keeping Perfect vs Good in mind. With this in mind,
my team of administrators, managers and agents are encouraged to try things out. If they
don’t succeed that’s just fine. Better to have tried and failed than to have not tried at all.

Building the Bike as you Ride it
If you are trying to build a business or company, then you might want to think about
‘building a bike as you ride it’ (or building the plane as you are falling out of the window if
you want to be a bit more dramatic).
This is when you say ‘yes’ and figure out how to make it happen. This is when you get to
position yourself ahead of where you currently are and create something entirely new for
you. This is extremely uncomfortable and puts you right up against your own fears. This is
where you are tested and you get to grow. Start acting like you have the business you want.
Start behaving like you would if you were already there. Start riding the damn bike as you
are assembling it!

A Client Base of One
I knew that there was a client base of one – that would be me! My three principals of
working remotely, paying agents well, and a focus on branding would work just fine for me.

If there is one person who likes the idea, chances are there will be more than one. And if I
was wrong, well so be it, I would just do it on my own.
Why do I share these thoughts? Because I categorically can say without these three ideas,
this company simply would not be!
Hope that you have a great week and would appreciate your thoughts or experiences with
these ideas.