{"id":104543,"date":"2024-11-12T20:28:09","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T20:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/?p=104543"},"modified":"2024-11-13T15:38:15","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T15:38:15","slug":"t-sql-tuesday-180-good-enough-is-perfect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/opinion\/career\/t-sql-tuesday-180-good-enough-is-perfect\/","title":{"rendered":"T-SQL Tuesday #180 \u2013 Good enough is perfect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Today\u2019s post is in reply to the invitation post<\/a>, Josephine Bush<\/a> asks the question: \u201cHow do you get to good enough and not burn yourself out with perfect?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an editor, I read this question and I love it, but I am reminded of the Seinfeld episode called Mom and Pop store. There was a discussion about whether Jerry was invited to a party, and Elaine said the host asked, \u201cWhy would Jerry bring anything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jerry asked, \u201cokay, but did he say, \u2018Why would Jerry<\/em><\/strong> bring anything?\u2019 or \u2018Why would Jerry bring<\/em><\/strong> anything<\/em><\/strong>?\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reply was, \u201cI think he emphasized would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Context is everything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This title of this month\u2019s T-SQL Tuesday post is in that particular sort of vein. Whether you emphasize good enough of perfect changes the meaning. About 25 years ago now, I was working on a project rebuilding a company\u2019s base customer system. This was supposed to be an agile project, but in reality, it was a death march, deadline driven process. The person driving the project LOVED<\/strong> the phrase \u201cbetter is the enemy of good enough\u201d. So over time I learned to hate the term \u201cgood enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, I came to reconcile this hatred with the realization that it isn\u2019t \u201cgood enough\u201d I hated, it was the definer of the term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you can use a term like \u201cgood enough\u201d or \u201cperfect,\u201d it is essential to recognize what these terms mean. In the invitation post<\/a>, Josephine does a great job defining what trying to be perfect, or perhaps rather what trying to be perfect does to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My definition of Good Enough<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The problem with trying to be perfect is that it is not reasonable. You can never be perfect. But you can be good enough without settling, but you have to do a few things:<\/p>\n\n\n

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