Yesterday I watched a new show on the Food Network called “24 hour Restaurant Battle.” (Watching the Food Network doesn’t make me a good cook, but it inspires me to be a good cook.)  On the show, two teams have 24 hours to create and open a restaurant. The winning team earns $10,000.

In the episode I watched, the chefs on opposing teams were equally talented.  The difference was that one chef was a perfectionist.  The other had his eye on the end result: to serve good food in a timely manner.  The perfectionist spent more time on the presentation of the food —her customers wouldn’t have noticed if the lettuce wasn’t centered on the plate —and less time watching the clock.  The perfectionist lost the competition.

When you focus on making sure the slightest tasks turns out perfectly, you risk missing deadlines, annoying your clients and getting in your own way of success.  Your business can’t move forward when your need for perfection turns into an anchor that drags your business down.

The next time you can’t let something go because it’s not perfect, take the pressure off yourself and keep your eye on the big picture.