The French philosopher Montesquieu wrote, “Le mieux est le mortel ennemi du bien”, which means, “The best is the mortal enemy of the good.” Montesquieu was an interesting man who lived in the 18th century, and influenced many of the political structures around the world. His book “The Spirit of Law” from 1748 described ways to avoid absolute power, established concepts like “innocent until proven guilty”, and campaigned against slavery. I guess some countries adopted those ideas more than others.
I mentioned it because Josephine Bush has invited us to write about the topic of “Good enough is perfect“. And while I realise that the two statements are not identical, I consider that they are essentially the same. If we always strive for perfect then we can all too easily miss the mark of being able to deliver anything worthwhile. As a consultant I have to understand that the ideal solution for my customers is not the one where everything is completely perfect if achieving that means that the cost is too high. Instead, I need to find the point where good enough really is good enough.
Understanding value at the margin is a vital skill.