I have been weighing two opposing approaches to business: the pursuit of the “very best” versus the pursuit of the “optimised.” In the creative and agency world, the default setting is to strive for the highest possible standard in every video, design, or build. I’ve decided that for the vast majority of cases, this is a strategic error.
The most profitable businesses in the world aren’t the ones producing the “best” product; they are the ones that have optimised for volume and pragmatism. A three-Michelin-star restaurant has the highest standards and the best service, but McDonald’s makes more profit per minute than most of those restaurants make in a year. VW is more profitable than Rolls Royce despite lower margins and a lower price point. They aren’t selling the best; they are selling “good enough” at a scale that works.
What I’ve observed, speaking with other agency owners, is that the drive to produce “the best” work often undermines the business itself. There is an obsession with the final 5%, the “nice-to-haves” that most clients don’t actually need. I’ve been in sales meetings where a client was quoted £20k for a website they only had £10k for. In reality, half that £20k quote was buying an extra 5% of “quality” that made no difference to the client’s bottom line.
The shift I am making is toward pragmatism.
We should be properly remunerated for our time, but that time is better spent meeting the client’s expectations and budget rather than our own internal high standards. Producing work that is “good enough” allows more clients to afford the service, reduces delivery pressure, and completes projects with fewer resources. You don’t use a handmade leather bag to carry groceries; a plastic bag is the logical tool for the job. Business owners understand this, and they don’t want to spend money unnecessarily. If the client is happy and the goal is met, stressing over the final 5% is just a waste of margin. We save our own high expectations for the projects we build for ourselves.
