By this point, most work doesn’t fail because it’s wrong.
It fails because it waits.
You’ve decided what matters.
You know who it’s for.
And then… nothing quite lands.
Not because people aren’t capable.
But because the bar quietly drifts upwards.
“It’s nearly there.”
“One more tweak.”
“Let’s just polish this bit.”
I know this pattern well, because I’ve lived it.
There’s a voice I still hear sometimes.
Usually when something is 90% done.
It sounds like this:
“Mike, just sodding get it out already.”
That voice isn’t careless.
It’s not anti-quality.
It’s anti-stall.
Momentum doesn’t come from perfect work.
It comes from finished work.
When something exists in the real world, a few important things happen very quickly.
You get feedback you couldn’t predict.
You see what actually matters.
You stop guessing.
When something stays half-built, everything is theoretical.
Opinions multiply.
Confidence drops.
Energy leaks away.
I’ve watched teams sit on “almost ready” work for weeks.
The intention is good.
The impact is zero.
By the time it finally ships, the context has shifted.
The urgency has gone.
The learning opportunity is missed.
This is exactly what sprints are designed to counter.
They’re not about rushing.
They’re about sequencing.
First version.
Then learning.
Then improvement.
Not “wait until it’s impressive”.
But “get something useful into people’s hands”.
This is where last week’s point matters.
When you know exactly who something is for, the definition of “ready” gets much simpler.
You’re not trying to satisfy everyone.
You’re trying to help someone.
That changes the bar.
Ready doesn’t mean flawless.
Ready means usable.
Clear.
Helpful.
There’s usually a quieter fear underneath delayed work.
Fear of judgement.
Fear of getting it wrong.
Fear of showing something that could have been better.
But here’s the thing.
Perfection doesn’t protect you from judgement.
It just delays it.
And worse, it delays progress.
The teams that move fastest aren’t reckless.
They’re deliberate about what matters now and what can wait.
They ask:
What’s the smallest version of this that creates value?
What do we need to learn next?
What would be useful by the end of this sprint?
Then they build that.
This doesn’t lower standards.
It protects them.
Because quality improves through iteration, not avoidance.
So if you find yourself stuck at “nearly done”, pause for a moment.
Ask yourself:
What am I waiting for?
What decision am I avoiding?
What feedback do I actually need?
Often, the answer isn’t more work.
It’s permission.
Permission to finish.
Permission to share.
Permission to let something be good enough for now.
Or, if you prefer the shorter version:
Just sodding get it out already.
Next week, I’ll talk about why short cycles force honesty, and how long timelines hide bad decisions.
But for this week, focus here.
Finish something.
Ship it.
Learn from it.
Momentum follows action.
What’s one thing you could finish this week if you stopped polishing?
Reply and tell me what you’re holding back.
