Hit the Rewind Button

The best thing I’ve read in the Steve Jobs

biography so far:

Jobs liked to tell the story — and he did so to his team that day — about how everything that he had done correctly had required a moment when he hit the rewind button. In each case he had to rework something that he discovered was not perfect … “If something isn’t right, you can’t just ignore it and say you’ll fix it later,” he said. “That’s what other companies do.”

Interesting concept. Steve Jobs didn’t tolerate anything less than the best (in his opinion). But the only way to the best was to start with imperfection and to revise.

That’s the tricky part when it comes with creativity. It involves a high tolerance for imperfection and a refusal to settle for anything but perfection at the same time.