Your Monthly Marketing Motivation 

May 2022 | Issue 30

I learned pretty early on in my life that I was not perfect. Cue the gong! And also that I should never, ever, admit that to myself or anyone else. Of course, this race for perfection is sometimes advantageous (I was an overachiever in my younger days) but also a hindrance. All that hiding is exhausting.

When I stepped into the working world, I had to learn that my perfectionism wasn’t going to be so easy to hold up. I realized there is power in being wrong, admitting I don’t know all the answers, making mistakes, and moving past them (as quickly as possible).

In fact, I remember the time when I was forced to pivot my thinking permanently.

I had worked for a few good weeks compiling a report with analytics my client had never seen, designing beautiful graphs, ensuring the narrative was just right, and printing and binding the final booklet. Then, during my presentation, my client pointed out an error. It was tiny, meaning that it was one number and the fact that it was incorrect had no bearing on the report's accuracy. But, all I could see was my presentation disintegrating into a dust cloud and landing in the trash can. No, I’m not overly dramatic! I just couldn’t get past that it wasn’t perfect.

My boss could see that I was also about to personally spiral into a dust cloud, and so we talked it through after the meeting concluded, of course. But I just couldn’t let it go. And a few weeks later, there I was, still wanting to talk through my mistake. She reassured me that everyone makes mistakes (as if Sesame Street hadn’t pounded that into my head) and that I needed to move on. Some things were big and deserved time and attention. Some things were small. But they all belong in the past.

And thus began my journey to become flawsome: someone who acknowledges their imperfections but knows I’m awesome regardless. And in admitting my faults, in being vulnerable, others around me don’t get tripped up either. Instead, they see me deal with it and move on.

Don’t let the goal of perfection keep you from getting all the excellent marketing ideas growing inside your head onto paper, or into a plan, or even a slack message. Now that’s some #marketing #motivation.