Shoot for 90's

One of the biggest lessons I've learned in business is something I call: "Shoot for 90's."

At first, that might sound like lowering your standards. It's not. It's actually about understanding value, efficiency, and the difference between excellence and ego.

Here's what I mean. Most customers are paying for about 90% of the product or service. That 90% is what they actually experience: quality, communication, speed, consistency, professionalism, and the final result.

The last 10%? Most customers will never notice it. And yet… that final 10% often consumes the most: time, labor, stress, money, and resources.

Why? Because many times that last 10% isn't for the customer. It's for us. It's pride.

Now don't get me wrong — pride in your work can be a great thing. Pride creates craftsmanship. Pride pushes standards higher. Pride separates average businesses from excellent ones.

But unchecked pride can also quietly destroy profitability. At some point, you have to ask yourself: "Am I improving the customer experience… or am I trying to prove something?"

The goal in business is not perfection at all costs. The goal is maximizing value while protecting profit.

Perfection doesn't scale. Systems do. The best companies focus relentlessly on the things customers actually value while eliminating unnecessary friction and wasted effort.

Because your biggest profit leak is usually hiding in the work nobody asked for. And the businesses that survive long term aren't the ones doing everything perfectly. They're the ones doing the right things consistently.