Overcoming Perfection Rules - No Fluff Just Stuff

Overcoming Perfection Rules

Posted by: Johanna Rothman on April 24, 2012

I have a tough time with my perfection rules. I want to be perfect. I’m not, of course. I want to be.

So using leanpub and publishing early and often pushes me way out of my comfort zone. Which is why you haven’t heard anything from me about my book under development up until now. Yesterday, I announced the beta of my newest book Manage Your Job Search: Reduce Your Overwhelm, Focus Your Search, and Get Your Next Job!

I couldn’t just push the button and publish. Oh no, no, no. I had to make it a beta, because it’s not done. It’s not even close. Oh, more than the outline of the book is there. The networking chapter is great. How to use personal kanban is great. Much of how you reflect on the past week is great. The tips and traps are great. And, I know they are not complete, which is making me nuts.

That’s not all that’s making me nuts. The copyediting is not done. The layout is not done. The what to do now is not done. I need feedback from readers to know what to do next, which is why I needed to publish, and oh boy, it’s not perfect. That’s why I don’t have a real cover, because I don’t know that I have the correct title. How do I balance my perfection rules against the need for feedback?

Beta! Especially if I explain that it’s a beta book. That’s what I did in my announcement yesterday. I was able to balance my need for perfection against my need for feedback.

I bet my fellow leanpub authors are delighted to not have to hear the teenage drama queen angst on the leanpub list anymore. I will get the feedback I need. I will be able to perfect the book from people looking for a job. It’s a win-win.

If you are looking for a job, please do check out my new book, Manage Your Job Search: Reduce Your Overwhelm, Focus Your Search, and Get Your Next Job! It’s not perfect; it’s a beta book. I would love your feedback.

Johanna Rothman

About Johanna Rothman

Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” offers frank advice for your tough problems. She helps leaders and teams learn to see simple and reasonable things that might work. Equipped with that knowledge, they can decide how to adapt their product development.

With her trademark practicality and humor, Johanna is the author of 18 books about many aspects of product development. She’s written these books:

  • Project Lifecycles: How to Reduce Risks, Release Successful Products, and Increase Agility
  • Become a Successful Independent Consultant
  • Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer
  • Modern Management Made Easy series: Practical Ways to Manage Yourself; Practical Ways to Lead and Serve (Manage) Others; Practical Ways to Lead an Innovative Organization
  • Write a Conference Proposal the Conference Wants and Accepts
  • From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams (with Mark Kilby)
  • Create Your Successful Agile Project: Collaborate, Measure, Estimate, Deliver
  • Agile and Lean Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization
  • Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects, 2nd edition
  • Project Portfolio Tips: Twelve Ideas for Focusing on the Work You Need to Start & Finish
  • Diving for Hidden Treasures: Finding the Value in Your Project Portfolio (with Jutta Eckstein)
  • Predicting the Unpredictable: Pragmatic Approaches to Estimating Project Schedule or Cost
  • Manage Your Job Search
  • Hiring Geeks That Fit
  • The 2008 Jolt Productivity award-winning Manage It! Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management
  • Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (with Esther Derby)

In addition to articles and columns on various sites, Johanna writes the Managing Product Development blog on her website, jrothman.com, as well as a personal blog on createadaptablelife.com.

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