It took the creator of the Rubik’s Cube, Erno Rubik, one month to solve the cube after he created it; as of today, the world record is 4.22 seconds.
The Wright brothers invented the airplane and their first flight lasted less than a minute. The current longest non-stop flight runs for 18 hours.
The first car invented by Ford could reach a mind-bending 45 km/h. Today’s cars can reach thrice that speed in a few seconds.
Are you getting the point? There are way more stories like this I can go on and on about.
The point is this. You can’t start by inventing a modern Ferrari or create a great puzzle that you can solve in seconds or an intercontinental flight in your first attempt.
Iteration is not one way of improving your offerings. It is the only way.
You have to start with shitty products or ideas first. The product doesn’t have to be the greatest ever. It has to solve a real problem. Once that happens, your customers will guide you towards better and more efficient solutions.
Stop obsessing over making it absolutely perfect the very first time (or ever). There’s no such thing as perfect. Everything is a work in progress.
You’ll always have something to improve upon and it will only happen iteratively, not all at once.
When do you know when something is ready to ship? Tell me examples of when you released a product when it was at a less-than-ideal stage. I’ll share my stories if you share yours.
Yours,
Abhilash Purohit