Some sooner is better than all later

 As a child I remember when my mother Shirley (who just turned 80 last week!) would whip up a tasty cake on a Saturday afternoon.

The ingredients would come out and then one by one they'd go into the mixing bowl. After the 'mix' and the 'pour' into the cake tin, the bowl and the beaters were mine… all mine! <evil laugh>

Tasty cake mixture that hadn't seen the oven yet! Some cakes mixture leftovers were tastier than others but it was a hint of the saying 'some sooner is better than all later.' Sure, I would have a little of the cake once it was cooked, but there was always that test or taste of what was to come, with some baking time.  

It's the same with projects, ideas you're working on and pieces of work on your 'to do' list. 

Get it out there so people can have a taste of some of it sooner, rather than waiting and giving them the whole finished thing later ... which they may not like the taste of. Gone! All that time working on something that wasn't to their taste. 

Software developers and other types of technology workers use this approach often. They deliver smaller working pieces of their projects quickly so that people can test them out and give feedback. Changes are made and the next working version or piece is tested and delivered.

The Lean Startup movement sees it as a 'minimum viable product'. 

Quality gets built in. Overall delivery to market will be quicker and you'll stay more competitive. And there is the 'buzz' of getting something shipped that helps motivate and inspire us to action… and then more action.

Ok … so what have you got sitting there on your list or the 'not quite done' project file that could be put out there now? Today. As it is.

Give people a taste of it now. Ask and listen to feedback. Make improvements. And then keep that conversation going about what they want and how they'd like it. Mmmm tasty. Yum!  

PS. That visual up there of my mum's cake, that's your free hand drawn icon this issue. I'll quickly sketch an image of a cake to represent key concepts like: celebration, anniversary, birthday (of course), reward, end of project, years or duration (number of candles). An oval shape for the top, lines down the side, through the middle for the layers, and some thicker lines for candles with little lines for candle flames.