Your Baby is Ugly

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No, we’re not talking about children or infants here. We’re talking about people who are so invested in their idea, business, and process, which results in hyper tunnel vision and they begin to believe the fantasy that their [enter “whatever” here] is the best and cannot get better. Calling that [thing] imperfect is analogous to calling someone’s baby ugly.

Why?

Because the person is so invested in their endeavor that they fail to see truth.

Here are some examples of Ugly Baby Syndrome:

• You build a product without identifying a problem to solve or a market need. You love you idea so much, but you continue to build something that nobody wants.
• You manage a process in your business that you are very proud of; you believe it’s perfect and that it can’t be improved any further.
• You own a business and have enjoyed market leadership for a long time; you don’t believe there are any competitors. You become complacent because you continue to believe “who will outsmart us? nobody can be better at what we do.”
• You manage a process where speed is a critical to quality metric and you don’t believe you can deliver any faster.
• You believe your creation is perfect and that nothing can penetrate its armor; but, the truth is that there are most likely chinks in the armor that you have failed to see.

If you suffer from any of the above symptoms, then a dose of truth and humility is the cure. Most likely, what you believe is likely false. In other words, that baby you feel is so angelic and perfect, is most likely pretty average looking.

So, let go of your ego, acknowledge that nothing is perfect but the pursuit of perfection is an admirable trait, and get to work.