Sometimes…

Seth Godin asked a really important question this past weekend, wondering “is good enough good enough." Of course, his answer is "no." And he’s rignt. Mike Moran, on the other hand, points out that sometimes the best answer is to get an answer out there and learn from it quickly. He’s right, too. Huh? Don’t these rules contradict? No. Simply put:

1. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
2. It does need to be different.

If all you’re trying to do is duplicate what your competition is up to, follow Seth’s advice and stop. If you’re trying something new and different, for God’s sake, get it out there and learn what you can. The faster you learn, the harder it is for your competition to do anything more than copy you. And that’s a Good Thing.

[UPDATED 8/14/2007] – Web Worker Daily argues in favor of good enough with a viewpoint about "satisficing." And while I think their general point is sound, make sure that satisficing yourself doesn’t lead to "antici-pointment" for your customers.