September 9, 2011 69 Comments

The Difference Between Ship and Shit

JEEP Dispatcher assembly line

My language isn’t safe for work on this post. Save criticism for another post. In this case, I need to use this word.

Seth Godin is right to tell you to ship. Get your stuff out. Make something. DO something. It’s important. And waiting until something is perfect isn’t an option.

Putting out crap isn’t all that useful, either. There’s a big difference between “ship” and “shit,” and in the latter case, I’d say the difference is one you already know about in your gut.

The Balance

Let me be clear: it’s quite often okay to put out something that’s “good enough.” What isn’t okay is trying to get something out to your audience or community that just doesn’t get anything done. And by the way, the “it” in this case is whatever your “product” is. If it’s a blog post and you’ve just thrown it together, you know that. If it’s a speech, then writing it an hour before you give it is shit. If it’s a book and you’re just writing to fill pages, that’s shit.

You feeling this?

Restaurants make this mistake all the time. Servers do it all the time. People phone it in all the time. They have the chance to deliver something even vaguely good, and they push out what? You got it. Shit.

How Do You Manage It?

Here’s the thing, and I’m sorry to keep repeating, but people don’t read any longer. They skim.

You know when you’re pushing out shit versus shipping. You’ve got pressure to ship. Great. Then make the time to make it worth it. Don’t hold things until they’re perfect. That’s constipation, and serves no one.

If it’s something you know will help others, put it out. If it’s not ready to help others, don’t. If you haven’t completed it, wait. Do the work. Finish it. If you haven’t given it a quick polish, wait. If you haven’t garnished the plate, so to speak, wait.

Then ship it.

Seth didn’t ask for your poop. We can all do better. I’m on this same watch. You with me?

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  • http://www.JohnMichaelMorgan.com John Morgan

    Beautiful my friend…simply beautiful.

  • http://www.jeffreysass.com sass

    The obvious response… “No shit! (Sherlock)”

  • http://www.drewdagostino.com Drew D’Agostino

    If only people followed this (myself included), the Internet would be a less overwhelming place. There’s quite a bit of shit.

    I think where people get stuck is that point where they loose some momentum and feel the pressure of all the sunk ‘cost’ they’ve put into a project and feel that if they trash it, they’ve trashed their time. But in some cases it’s worth it to just start over or totally separate yourself from the idea. That’s what I struggle with most.

  • http://John.do John Saddington

    LOL. loved this chris. rock on.

  • http://seanclark.com Sean Clark

    This caught me half-way through my latest blog post, think I’ll polish it a bit more before shipping, just to make sure ;)

  • http://www.dogwalkblog.com/ Rufus Dogg

    Restaurants: YES, YES, YES! I live in Dayton, Ohio and you are probably thinking to yourself that I am so lucky to be living in the mecca of restaurant excellence. You would be wrong. EVERY DAMN PLACE out here gets their crap from Sysco Foods and it is all frozen, prepped crap. Same frozen burger patty at TJ as at Tumblewood… and they fill their menus with 1,245 item choices instead of focusing in on a few signature dishes… just crap, crap, crap. nobody even tries out here. They hire food assemblers, not cooks. Ok, I’m done. I’m also mostly done eating out except when I travel.

    • http://twitter.com/JudyHelfand JudyHelfand

      In 1985 I took a trip to Vermont to look at a country inn that was for sale. It actually was really a fine restaurant (at the time) with rooms upstairs that needed to be brought up to code. I said to the owner: “I am not a chef!” He looked at me and said: “You don’t have to be a chef…it is all in the sauce!” I didn’t purchase that property…too nervous. It really was and is a wonderful place.  Instead I purchased a property that was a B & B in New Hampshire. We purchased a lot of staples from Sysco. But what I can tell you is this: when a chef has worked all day to prepare a 4-5 course dinner (family style) there is nothing worse than to hear him/her say: “The sauce broke!” Do you ship? Scary business.
      Now, all these years later my oldest son is in an accelerated graduate course at the Culinary Institute of America. He loves cooking from scratch and having a few signature dishes.
      Have a good weekend.

    • http://twitter.com/JudyHelfand JudyHelfand

      In 1985 I took a trip to Vermont to look at a country inn that was for sale. It actually was really a fine restaurant (at the time) with rooms upstairs that needed to be brought up to code. I said to the owner: “I am not a chef!” He looked at me and said: “You don’t have to be a chef…it is all in the sauce!” I didn’t purchase that property…too nervous. It really was and is a wonderful place.  Instead I purchased a property that was a B & B in New Hampshire. We purchased a lot of staples from Sysco. But what I can tell you is this: when a chef has worked all day to prepare a 4-5 course dinner (family style) there is nothing worse than to hear him/her say: “The sauce broke!” Do you ship? Scary business.
      Now, all these years later my oldest son is in an accelerated graduate course at the Culinary Institute of America. He loves cooking from scratch and having a few signature dishes.
      Have a good weekend.

  • Anonymous

    Great point you’re making here Chris. Like Drew D’Agostino mentioned, the internet is full of shit.
    Differentiate yourself by not releasing shit, but releasing something that has some honest potential.

    This sentence summarizes the whole post, perfect:
    “If it’s something you know will help others, put it out. If it’s not ready to help others, don’t. ”

  • http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine

    In other words, “don’t suck.”

  • http://7sentences.com Andrew Brewer

    In the words of Jon Acuff, I’d rather be 90% perfect and published rather than 99% perfect and unpublished. I think the key to it all, as you put it, is whether or not what your shipping will be helpful to those receiving it. If it’s not, then who gives a crap–or maybe I should say “shit” in the spirit of this post :)

    Great stuff, Chris!

  • http://wordsdonewrite.blogspot.com Words Done Write

    A actually saw a blog post the other day that was one sentence. Total and complete garbage. Yet people were being sheep, retweeting it, liking it, sharing. Garbage.

    So, not only does the onus go to the people producing the content, it goes to those sharing it. Too many people these days sharing garbage in hopes of being noticed or having the favor returned. What they do is just as bad as the person producing the garbage in the first place.

    But I’m with you. Produce quality content or get out of the content creation game.

  • http://www.freelancewritingblog.com Ruth Zive

    While I’m not advocating constipation, I’d rather have a delayed shipment (that rocks) than shit that’s on time, if you know what I mean.

  • http://www.letsradiate.com Michelle

    Right on, Chris! A friend of mine (Jonathan - @Bybloggers:twitter ) were just taking about this either today or yesterday. I do think that getting something *done* is important – after all, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as a teacher of mine used to say – but I worry that Seth’s original message has been twisted (probably unintentionally) by several into “Put something out, even if it sucks.” Our communities and customers deserve better than that, and so do we. 

  • Lisa

    You are right I’m a skimmer.  I skimmed so much that I had to skim the article 4 times and I still don’t get it.  :)

  • http://rickladd.com Rick Ladd

    There is, apparently, a “no one’s land” between recognizing you’re letting perfection be the enemy of “good”, and the possibility you’re just being lazy and convincing yourself you did the best you could or, even worse, that your customer(s) won’t notice.

    Knowing when to pull the trigger is likely a combination of science and art, requiring not only an understanding of your customer(s) – through market research, etc., but having a feel for them as well.

    How this gets accomplished, of course, depends on whether you’re writing a blog or building the Space Shuttle Main Engine (both of which I’ve been involved with).

  • http://mattreport.com Matt Medeiros

    Shit YEA I’m with you!

  • http://rickmanelius.com Rick Manelius

    It’s the inverted U.

    Try to perfect it too much and you may never get it out the door.
    Try to ship no matter what, and it may fizzle before anyone even notices.

    The sweet spot is (usually) in the middle.

  • http://twitter.com/b_WEST Chris Burdge

    Here’s what I ask myself and my people “Is that the best you can do?” And then I wait for an answer.  I use this with my kids too. I’ve asked that of many service people as well, especially when they’ve just given me some lame excuse for why they can’t blah, blah, blah.  

    Happened the other day when I took the brand new car in for the 5th time to get them to fix the rattling window. 

    Me: You guys gonna fix it properly this time.

    Service guy: Sir, there are 1,000′s of moving parts in these vehicles. 

    Me: Did you seriously just say that (I was using my inside voice). Me: Is that the best you can do? 

    Service guy: Blank stare. 

    No, it doesn’t have to be perfect. But it should be the best I can do…

  • http://www.nicholasmorrow.info Nicholas Morrow

    If I continuously ask myself, “Is this my best?”  I’ll never get anything out the door because that search for perfection won’t let me.

    For most of my work, I’ve taken to the writing twice method (which I read about in Steve Kings memoir).  First draft is for me.  Just write it all out, get all my thoughts onto paper. Done.

    Second draft is for “you”, re-reading, editing, stripping useless stuff away…Getting all the not so fun stuff out of the way.

    Of course there is a sliding scale and sometimes extra work is needed but working in this way helps me to ship and stay out of that elusive “perfection” zone.

  • Alex Williams

    Reminds me of the great quote from Spinal Tap:

    David St. Hubbins: It’s such a fine line between stupid, and uh…Nigel Tufnel: Clever.David St. Hubbins: Yeah, and clever.

  • http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara

    Sometimes we are constipated and sometimes we shit. It is hard to not feel the pressure to throw something up there as being constipated is uncomfortable (literally and figuratively). The key is if we think it is shit, do not hit the publish button and sit on it and the next day have a beautiful intestinal flora that becomes a smooth move. No one will die if a post is held, no one will come banging down your door beating you up b/c you did not post. They would rather wait a day or so to get the something worthwhile. It takes a while to get there but you do. Shit is shit and shit is killing your credibility as no one wants to share shit nor be associated with shit.

    Though sometimes in the last hour we can write our best stuff or perform out best. We all have. Down to the wire with your backs against the wall we have no distractions and complete focus. Again that is sometimes or for some most of the time.

    I like this post as it stops you but also is a bit scary. Ok so now I look over to my right and see I need to go and be constipated as that shit I was jotting down to write um prob was just some diarrhea. It is still early enough and not the last hour …

  • Jack Lynady

    Great post. I often feel the urge to get it out. So much crap out here. I need to contribute my share. But why? What am I offering of value? Better to be constipated for a week than push something out that causes pain. U got me? J

  • Stricco76

    Very timely for me.  Thanks Terry.

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  • http://www.online-business-virtual-assistant.com/ Virtual Business Assistant

    Great post chris and really loved it and thanks for the share. I always tell you this “Great post .
    You always are on the edge of thinking outside the box and very clever.”
    Thanks! ”

  • http://johnhaydon.com John Haydon

    I’ve been searching all week for a place I can say “poopie”…

  • http://www.danieldecker.net Daniel Decker

    Preach it.

  • Chris Keaton

    I’m with you.

  • http://twitter.com/stuckaholic Alex Dogliotti

    Totally on board. Of course, we can’t forget the audience. Even if it’s the best we can do, is it good enough FOR THEM?

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  • Johng

    So much for your eBay speaking slot.

  • Johng

    So much for your eBay speaking slot.

  • Bunny

    I’m feeling it, and thanks for the post. I just started a new job and had a frustrating conversation about waiting 6-8 months to fix our Intranet.  We can do some small improvements quickly that will make a big difference.  It won’t be perfect, but it will make a huge difference for employees.  You’ve inspired me to push forward.  Awesome.

  • Anonymous

    Chris – great post but this is a really tough issue.  I see so many people waiting to get it perfect and consequently weeks and months go by and they never ship.  Fortunately we all have some margin in this space. 

  • Anonymous

    Usefulness is a difficult thing to assess and therefore not a great metric. Seth also said that his readership (the market) is better at judging his work than he is. I’m a big fan of Merlin Mann’s essay Better which, like your post, encourages us all to try harder.

  • Leah McClellan

    Good point. Reminds me of the pad thai chay I had last night for dinner. Usually delicious, but they had forgotten about my phone order, and when I arrived they quickly threw some greasy shit together.They needed to “ship” but delivering shit wasn’t smart. I wouldn’t have minded waiting another few minutes if the dish were at least fairly good, even if not excellent.

    And actually people do read. We’re out there, and we get annoyed (and stop reading completely) when articles are dumbed down and written in a series of single lines, like some new style of poetry that’s not poetic :)

  • Marnie Hughes

    You lookin’ over my shoulder, Chris? Am working on a project that keeps getting delayed because it’s not ‘perfect’ yet. But where it is will be good for much of my audience and will serve as a useful tool. So last night I spent several hours getting it close…..and now you’ve given me the final push I need to say to heck with perfection and SHIP already!!!

  • Eric Walker

    I’m with you all the way on this one. 

    Some people still read. I read your blog every day you post. 

    Happy day

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  • http://twitter.com/boldtrek Sue Melone

    Way to give a shit AND ship, Chris!  Nice work.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joel-Pinto/100002498220096 Joel Pinto

    Great post, Chris… again and right on the spot! 

    Sometimes I am recommended: “You should post more often”… why? If I dont’ feel that I’ve something good enough to share! It’s not like a goal or something set on stone that says you have to do this many things on this period of time… I do believe it’s about sharing good things, those you are sure will be useful or relevant to others. Otherwise, what’s the point then? :-DGood one, Chris. Sharing it!

  • http://www.TheFranchiseKing.com The Franchise King

    Chris,

    You’re one of the reasons that I’m always trying to only ship out the good stuff. And, I’m working to ship only the great stuff.JL

  • http://successbeginstoday.org/wordpress John Richardson

    Sometimes, in our haste to ship, we overcome constipation with exlax. While that gets it out the door, it’s still the same material, just thinned down and runny.

  • http://www.automatedsocialnetworking.com Treb

    Great post.. It is very interesting and I totally agree with you Chris… 

  • http://cashwithatrueconscience.com/rbblog Ryan Biddulph

    Hi Chris,

    I’m with ya ;)

    You know when it’s poop, and when it’s not. Rushed work creates crap. Crap does no one any good. We are in the business of adding value, so avoid publishing a post, creating a product or writing an article which does not add value.

    No need to do anything, if what you did is substandard.

    Thanks for sharing your insight Chris!

    RB

  • http://cashwithatrueconscience.com/rbblog Ryan Biddulph

    Hi Chris,

    I’m with ya ;)

    You know when it’s poop, and when it’s not. Rushed work creates crap. Crap does no one any good. We are in the business of adding value, so avoid publishing a post, creating a product or writing an article which does not add value.

    No need to do anything, if what you did is substandard.

    Thanks for sharing your insight Chris!

    RB

  • http://www.doitmyselfblog.com GlendaWH

    Telling it like it is…thank you, Chris!

  • Dominica Sliwa

    I’m with you Chris.  My only concern is sometimes the environment forces us to produce shit versus ship.  There are external factors that alter our attention from one project to another.  I like that you wrote that you are on the same watch, but sometimes I feel that my watch is ticking a bit faster than others.  Being a full time employee, full time student, I try to ship out as much as possible, but sometimes the time constraints forces me to only shit.

    It was really nice talking to you last weekend via skype (USF student)

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  • http://www.themanwifechronicles.com/ David Kaa

    Unless you’re in the manure business. Then it doesn’t really matter. Because you actually do want to ship shit.

  • Jackie Purnell

    One small letter subsitution, one big difference in output. 

    Unfortunately the ones that create the shit, probably aren’t reading this post.

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