Stop Polishing Away the Magic
Some of the best outcomes I’ve seen started out “wrong”.
Not because the plan was brilliant — but because the people involved stopped trying to make it perfect, trusted their instincts, and let it unfold.
A demo that’s rough around the edges… but sparks something new.
A product that’s a bit odd… but fulfils a real need.
A leader who doesn’t sound like everyone else… but earns attention.
An idea you’re quietly passionate about… and suddenly others are too.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot while building My Pet Life.
When you’re making something from scratch, “polish” is seductive. It feels like progress. It looks like competence. It gives you something to do when you’re not ready to test the real thing.
But it can also be a hiding place.
Because there’s a moment where the only way forward is to let the imperfect version meet the world.
The trap: optimising for approval instead of usefulness
Polish isn’t the enemy. Sloppiness isn’t a strategy.
The issue is what polish can quietly do to decision-making.
You start asking:
Will this sound sensible if I explain it?
Will people “get it” straight away?
What if it’s not as good as it could be?
And without noticing, you move from building something useful… to building something defensible.
That’s how the work flattens.
The edges get rounded.
The personality gets diluted.
The thing that felt alive becomes… correct.
Creation has a different kind of truth
There’s a phase in any build where clarity doesn’t come from thinking.
It comes from contact.
From showing the rough demo.
From putting the product in someone’s hands.
From hearing what lands, what confuses, what they actually need.
I see the same thing with horses: you can “theory” all day, but the truth arrives in the doing. You learn by paying attention to what’s in front of you — not the perfect version in your head.
And the best partnerships (with people, with animals, with customers) rarely come from control.
They come from responsiveness.
A simple reset (when things start to feel too clean)
If you’re building something right now, ask yourself:
Are you improving it… or editing out the magic?
A few prompts that help:
What’s the one line you keep rewriting because it feels too direct?
What’s the slightly odd detail you’re sanding off — even though it’s the most memorable part?
What would you ship this week if “useful” mattered more than “impressive”?
Where are you polishing because you’re avoiding the moment of contact?
You don’t need chaos.
You need honesty, plus enough structure to keep moving.
Make it responsible. Make it clear. Make it safe enough.
Then stop sanding.
A question to leave with
What’s one “rough edge” you’ve learned to keep — because it’s where the work comes alive?
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#Leadership #DecisionMaking #BuildingInPublic #ProductLeadership #FounderLife #CreativityAtWork #OrganisationalCulture #Strategy #Communication #Trust
