Leonardo’s Perfection Problem

Leonardo DaVinci

In Monday’s email, I recommended the new biography Leonardo DaVinci (by Walter Isaacson).

Great read. Lots of interesting stories. Many business lessons. 

Here’s one: 

In 1480, monks hired Leo to create a painting of the Adoration of the Magi.

Leo started the project, but he stopped before finishing.

Leo imagined the perfect painting, but he couldn’t achieve that perfection.

So he abandoned the unfinished work (Leo had lots of unfinished works).

The monks canned Leo and gave the job to Filippino Lippi.

Art historians say Lippi’s Adoration is way worse than Leo’s… except…

…it’s finished.

Leo was the better painter. But Lippi met deadlines, delivered the goods, and cashed in.

Today, we call Leo a genius and gawk at his works in museums.

But back in the day, Leo was just another starving artist who sucked at running his business.

The bottom line: Leonardo DaVinci had a perfection problem.

Do you have a perfection problem?

Action drives business. Inaction kills it.

Remember that the next time you’re thinking, “I can’t launch an email campaign because I’m not a good enough writer.”

(You’re good enough, or you can hire someone who is good enough.)

Think of Lippi cashing in the next time you re-edit content, over and over again, because it’s “not quite right.”

(It’s right enough or you can hire someone who can quickly make it right enough.)

If you wait and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait…

…until your stuff is practically perfect, you choose inaction over action.

Then, like Leonardo, you will have a perfection problem that becomes a business problem.

Don't go away yet..

p.s. Coaches, authors, and consultants hire me to power-up their creative content and storytelling to captivate prospects, stand-out and book more business.

Whenever you're ready, here are several ways I can help you become a storytelling stand-out so you'll land more clients without pitching and prodding:

1) Get the Story Power Profit Pack -- 52 Strategies, Tips, and Tactics  to Transform Your Content from Ignored to Adored.

2) Watch the free, 7-minute Micro-Training: “The 3 Most Important Storytelling Keys to Captivate Prospects and Inspire Them to Act -- Without Pitching and Prodding.”

3) Become a Story Power VIP: Master how to discover, assemble, and deliver business-building stories. Twice-monthly live masterclasses. Members-only content. One-on-one feedback and consulting sessions. And more… If you'd like to learn more about our VIP program, just reply to this email and put "Story Power VIP" in the subject line. I’ll contact you with more details.

4) Work with me one-on-one: If you’re interested in working directly with me -- to discover, assemble, and deliver powerful, business-building stories -- simply reply to this email and change the subject line to "Private Client." Tell me a little about yourself, your business, and what you'd like to accomplish, and I'll reply to discuss options.

5) Invite me to speak at an event: I can tailor a presentation that meets the specific needs of your organization. Informative. Entertaining. Virtual or live. Potential for continuing education credits when applicable for your group. If interested, reply to this email and change the subject line to “Speaking Engagement.” I’ll circle back to discuss the possibilities.

Want to get great content like this...

...delivered straight to your inbox?

Join our email list...

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Post Categories

Previous Post

Next Post

Tom Ruwitch

Tom Ruwitch is the founder and CEO of Story Power Marketing. For more than 30 years, he has helped businesses grow by delivering powerful stories using a variety of different media.

Leave a Comment