In response to the vast and positive feedback to last week’s column, plus a little nudging from one of my firm’s partners, I have decided to dig deeper into the topic of doing something. As I said last time, talk is cheap. To achieve success, you have to do something, anything.

Otherwise, you risk being labelled a fantasy leader. The point was clearly made: you have to act to turn possibility into reality. Ultimately, that is what distinguishes those who say what they’ll do from those who do what they say.

Yet, while acceptance of this point is universal, excuses still roll off the tongue: “But you don’t understand my circumstances” or “I’ll take action when I have the time, the money, the support … when everything is perfect.”

Time for a reality check: No one ever has enough money, time and resources. The conditions are never perfect for you to start. Hiding from these facts could be why you’re not realising your dreams.

You’re waiting on perfection, when you should be focused on taking a first step — be it a crawl, walk or run.

Waiting on perfection before acting is as ludicrous as the idea of toddlers refusing to walk until they can master the fashion runway — yet this is exactly how some leaders approach things. Week after week, I sit in client management meetings and listen in frustration as actions are put on hold in favour of the fruitless pursuit of perfection. Invariably, the result is that good ideas are left to die a slow, corporate death.

Was the first-generation iPhone perfect when it was released in 2007? The iPad? The first Apple Watch? Not at all. Neither was most of Silicon Valley, where speed of action is the skill de rigueur. Facebook and its countless updates were not perfect at first.

That’s because Mark Zuckerberg’s company works to a simple but effective premise: done is better than perfect. A few years back, they painted that quote on a wall at Facebook HQ to serve as a reminder of what really matters: getting stuff done!

The US Marine Corps echoes this thinking. As an organisation that’s built on discipline and prescience, they believe fast is better than perfect. They say 70 per cent is good enough — don’t waste your time perfecting the final 30 per cent.

I’m inclined to agree; instead of chasing the impossible, make a start so you can get something done. After all, something is better than nothing, and when it comes to achievement, the odds are in favour of acting over perfecting.

So, don’t allow talk of perfection to put the brakes on your business and justify inaction — no matter how convenient it may be. My hunch is that you may find hidden comfort in being able to blame the pursuit of perfection for your lack of action.

Then, it’s not you, it’s “them”. The pursuit of perfection is the greatest and safest excuse for maintaining the status quo. Disrupting it requires courage.

It’s a limited currency, but it’s the only form of payment that progress accepts.

A few years ago, I taught one of my sons how to run. Not PE class running or jogging around the neighbourhood, but a real 10 kilometre race. At the beginning, he wasn’t a good runner at all — he was a bit overweight and not very active.

So, on our first day of running, I thought we should do a leisurely 3 kilometres to get him into it.

He didn’t finish the first kilometre. It was clear the gap between what he wanted to achieve and what he was capable of at that time was wide. In the moment, I think I wanted to quit more than he did.

I quickly realised that his training couldn’t be focused on running a perfect 10 kilometres; it needed to focus on finishing one kilometre, then two, then three. So, our efforts shifted to these short runs and each month I stretched out his distance. Once he got up to the 5 kilometre mark, I started working with him on speed, picking his pace up. Then, when he reached 8 kilometres, we worked on his confidence.

Had we persisted with the 10 kilometres from the start, we would have ended up sitting on the couch and watching the race. Instead, my son learnt that done was better than perfect. In the end, he crossed the finish line having achieved what he didn’t think he could.

If you’re waiting for perfection — enough time, enough money — you’ll never start. Run with your ideas today, before it’s too late. And remember: done is better than perfect!

The writer is a CEO coach and author of “Leadership Dubai Style”. Contact him at tsw@tommyweir.com