The 90% Done Problem

This is the Minute Business Riff (MBR). Quick takes. Big swings. Leadership riffs you can read in less time than it takes to scroll LinkedIn aimlessly.

One minute. One idea. That’s it.

Today’s word count: 242

It took me 53s to read this.

I once worked with a team that was full of talent… and full of unfinished projects.

Decks that were almost ready.

Campaigns just waiting on final copy.

Features one QA away from launch.

Everything was 90% done.

Nothing was actually shippable.

The team wasn’t lazy - they were smart, ambitious, creative.

But they had one fatal habit: Starting new things felt better than finishing old ones.

Because starting is fun.

Finishing? That’s where the resistance lives.

Finishing means facing feedback.

Finishing means putting your name on it.

Finishing means it’s real and real means vulnerable.

So I introduced a new mantra to the team: “Done is better than clever.”

We printed it. Slacked it. Slapped it on a Notion board.

It became our north star.

Before starting anything new, we asked: “What’s already in motion that we could finish first?”

The change was immediate.

We shipped a new onboarding flow that had been 90% done for 3 months.

Closed the loop on three half-built marketing campaigns.

Launched internal enablement materials that had been “in review” since Q1.

The team’s energy flipped - because momentum lives in done work.

Busy feels good.

But done feels better.

Tactical Takeaway:

This week, take inventory:

What are you 90% done with that’s just collecting dust?

Now pick one. Ship it.

Even if it’s not perfect. Especially if it’s not perfect.

Because no one wins awards for clever.

They win by finishing what others didn’t.

Think this was a banger? Think I’m full of it?

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Great leaders are made in minutes. Not meetings.