The 80 Percent Rule is a concept you will often hear from business coaches, including my own, at Strategic Coach. People often delay action because they are waiting for something to be 100% perfect — fully thought out, completely polished, totally risk-free. But in business, relationships, networking, and life, waiting for perfection often means missing opportunities altogether.
In short, the 80 Percent Rule says: if something is 80% ready, understood, or good enough, then it is time to move forward. The Rule is not an excuse to be sub-par or to do sub-par work. Rather, it is an opportunity to put your ideas into action and to begin the process of achieving perfection.
Here are four practical reasons to follow the 80 Percent Rule in business and in life.
1. Progress beats perfection. Many successful people act before they feel fully ready. A referral call, presentation, marketing idea, or new service offering does not need to be flawless to create value. It is better to make a partially wrong or imperfect decision than to make no decision at all.
2. Many opportunities are time-sensitive. In business especially, getting to market early may be very important. It is an opportunity to be a thought leader, an industry pioneer, or simply more effective than your peers. If we wait too long to try our ideas, the opportunity may disappear. “Good and timely” is often better than “perfect but late.”
3. Momentum creates clarity. We often think clarity comes first and action comes second. In reality, action usually creates clarity. Once you begin moving, the next steps become easier to see. When you roll out a new idea to your client base, you will receive feedback. Even if you think it is perfect, you are going to receive some type of feedback, reaction, or criticism anyway.
4. The final 20 percent often takes the most energy. Sometimes, the final tweaking consumes enormous amounts of time and mental and emotional bandwidth while adding very little additional value. Your ideas, services, and products are likely good enough. Roll them out, and then let the marketplace tell you what the final tweaks should be.
This concept also applies to delegating tasks when scaling your business. New employees whom you are mentoring may not do things exactly the way you do—or as well as you do, in your eyes. However, if they perform at 80 percent of your level, they are likely to be just as successful as you have been. More importantly, your clients are unlikely to notice a meaningful difference or perceive any gap in the quality of service.