Success = Degrees of Imperfection

A perfect cross into the penalty area.

A perfect product launch.

A perfect presentation.

No glitches. No deviation from the intended purpose.

How often does that happen?

Rarely if ever do we actually achieve precisely what we had intended.

There are simply too many uncontrollable and unpredictable variables in play that impact the planned outcome.

The environment is too complex to cultivate perfect results; where the deviation between intent and delivery is ZERO.

Success is impossible under these conditions; the rules to accommodate chaos and the unexpected must be re-written.

Significant accomplishments are ALWAYS imperfect and that striving for perfection is a waste of time.

A score is the consequence of responding to the unexpected with moves that continue to track forward, but morphed by the influence of the surprise.

It is based on minimizing the degrees of imperfection between intent and what has to be settled for. Recovering from an unplanned blip on the execution radar while maintaining the original sense of purpose.

Adopt these 3 acts of imperfection and you will achieve more success.

1. Change organizational expectations from "getting it right" to "being close enough". If it's ok to accept a few standard deviations from achieving a flawless solution (on paper), more workable outcomes will be realized spawning greater employee engagement and a rise in creativity and motivation.Plan 'A' is never achieved yet a disproportionate amount of time is spent defining what it looks like. Transfer the focus to preparing for disappointment and what should be done to recover.
2. Appoint more leaders who have a proven track record of achieving amazing imperfect results by inching along and conquering surprises along the way. It's not about academic pedigree; rather the proven ability to outdo the unpredictable and messiness barriers that are integral to anything worthwhile achieving.
3. Start to talk about this more practical definition of success in business schools. Success is not determined by formulae. It is not a dependent variable based on a number of finite independent variables that are assumed. That's the point. They CAN'T be assumed. They are NOT precise determinants of the expected outcome.Teach that the outcome will be different than the calculations suggest and that the critical action to take is to start down the implementation road and welcome the unexpected forces that will determine the concluding destination.

Get it approximately right and iterate to a conclusion that works in your particular circumstances.

That's the practical route to success.