Perfectionism isn't just about wanting to do good work. Sometimes it's about wanting more than what was actually asked for. Here's how we keep that in check at Devsights.
Not long ago, we sat down to talk about a client.
And we really wanted to give them everything. The rocket ship to the moon, the full team, the whole package. We could have. But it would have been more, not necessarily better. It would have satisfied our own urge to do as much as possible, not what the client actually needed.
And we landed back on the same question that comes up all the time around here: how do you know when something is enough?
That question is exactly what lets us deliver precisely what the client needs. No more, no less.
Thorough or perfectionist?
People with high standards often fall into a certain way of thinking: either it's excellent, or it's a failure. Nothing in between. No grey zone. The problem with that mindset is it leaves no room for "good enough". And good enough, most of the time, is exactly what meets the real need.
That missing middle ground often comes from mixing up two things that look alike but aren't the same. Being thorough means paying attention to the details that matter. Being a perfectionist means wanting every single detail to be flawless, even the ones that change nothing about the final result. The line between the two is easy to cross without noticing, and it's different for everyone. What's enough for one person can feel incomplete to another.
Better is the enemy of good
Once you know that line exists, the real question becomes: how do you know you've crossed it? That's where the old saying holds up: better is the enemy of good. When you're able to picture a better version of something, it's almost natural to want to keep pushing, even when what you already have fully meets the need. The real test is asking yourself whether it meets the standards you've set, and whether it answers what was actually asked for. If the answer is yes on both counts, pushing further isn't rigor. It's discomfort with the idea of stopping.
That discomfort is easy to spot in anyone learning something new. There's always a moment where you think you've figured it all out, when really you've just scratched the surface. You start talking as if you know everything, with a confidence that outpaces your actual understanding. People who've truly mastered a skill know exactly what they don't know. And they're fine with that. That awareness of your own limits is what lets you recognize when something is enough.
A question of standards, not ego
On a team where everyone holds high standards, this dynamic gets even trickier. We've realized, through talking it out, that friction rarely comes from someone doing lesser work. It comes from people having different levels of expectation. When someone suggests a better way of doing things, the question becomes "why is it better?" rather than "how dare you question this?". That openness, more than raw skill, is what keeps a team of perfectionists functional instead of destructive.
In the end, what matters isn't "is this perfect?". It's: does it meet our standards, and does it answer what the person in front of us actually needed? If the answer is yes, chasing perfection further is more about you than about them. It's a simple thing to say, but it takes reminding yourself often. Because the urge to do more comes back fast.
If this topic speaks to you, we dig into it further in the latest episode of Code 18. The link is right here.
-ÈL
