When I came across this quote from developer John Cutler, I found it insightful both for its simplicity and the deeper questions it evokes. “Walk a mile in your customer’s shoes, then figure out how to remove that mile altogether.” So, what exactly does he mean by “remove the mile”? One interpretation might be the distance between the process of doing and the achievement of done, and the speed at which we deliver for our clients. Another interpretation could be the distance in our understanding between what we think the customer needs and what they actually need. Or perhaps just finding more intentional ways to reduce our overall separateness – client and vendor – us and them, getting better at aligning our shared goals. Perhaps all of these apply.

For most, the primary measurement of progress is tangible outcomes; seeing is believing. To begin removing the mile between ourselves and our customers, it behooves us to find ways to do the groundwork first, before jumping into action, going deeper at the onset to deliver on the actual need rather than just the perceived need. Instead of Idea>Action, the goal is Idea>Plan>Action. To create a plan, we first need to feel the pain our customers feel, to internalize their hard realities, for an hour, a day, a week, whatever it takes to achieve the “I get it” moment so we can begin to chart a course that will yield the desired result.

When we align with our customer at both a practical and emotional level, we achieve shared understanding and clarity of purpose and of priority toward the desired destination. This results in a more accurate context that informs our creative problem solving. To be clear, the customer isn’t always the buyer. The customer may be our supervisor, boss, co-worker, partner, colleague, or anyone else we aim to serve. The customer is the person, team, or organization that bestows their confidence and trust in us to deliver a solution to their problem.

In Agile parlance, one tool we’ve found that works well is the user story – a short wish list item expressed as a brief human story from the customer’s perspective. Example: “As a sales representative traveling to clients, I often schedule back-to-back appointments. I would like to quickly access my notes from the home screen without having to drill-down, so I can save valuable time before each appointment.”

The format is simple: As a <type of role>, I would like to <complete some task> so I can <achieve some goal.>

Add user stories to your planning process, and project participants who may not have the benefit of direct customer interaction can peer into the history, context, and origin of the thing they’re tasked with building. This places everyone closer to the customer’s experience. In the story example of the sales person, compound their pain in the form of lost time over days and weeks and we have the real opportunity to create a meaningful difference for them.

Project planning that brings us closer to the customer ultimately drives more impactful outcomes, meeting the need and saving everyone the added cost, delays, and headaches of re-design and re-work, aka “that isn’t really what we had in mind” moments.

“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

User stories are effective when they’re visible. Add them to your roadmaps and sprint boards, virtual or otherwise, so they’re front and center when work actually begins. That way, the pain and desired outcome is expressed in human terms and doesn’t become a distant abstraction. It’s no longer just a feature, it’s improving someone’s life.

Whether it’s a new app, product, website, campaign, or any other project you’re charged with delivering . . . consistent, accurate deployment starts with clarity of understanding at the human level, serving to eliminate the mile between us and our customers.

Stephen Colwell serves as CEO and head of strategy for Clarify Media and Completing, two Southern California–based firms specializing in marketing and project management. With over 10 years of hands-on agency experience as a copywriter, brand strategist, and project manager, he brings a broad and deep range of both marketing and operations expertise to the community. From strategy and design to growth and performance, Steve offers a rare mix of creative and analytical thinking toward helping creative professionals, teams, and small businesses accelerate their progress and achieve more. He has led project teams responsible for over $100+ million in annual revenue across four continents. A certified Agile practitioner, Steve is fanatical about helping others work in teams more effectively and operate at their best using the same proven routines practiced by today’s top-performing companies.

In business and in life, we tend to irrationally build things up in our heads and overcomplicate what’s in front of us. We tend to overthink what it takes to complete our next project. In reality, there’s only one requirement: to simply start. Few understand this principle better than Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach. Dan’s simple 80% Approach is the simplest, clearest recipe we’ve seen for overcoming the two mental habits that stall far too many important projects and entrepreneurs, sometimes “for an entire lifetime.” These two insidious and all too common habits are perfectionism and procrastination.

I’ve compiled key take-aways below from Dan’s book The 80% Approach.

For most projects, 80% is all it takes to successfully launch.

Although the perfectionist says, “no way, it must be exactly correct before releasing,” this habit is entirely an internal struggle. This notion has no basis in the value of the project as perceived by most clients and the outside world. In most instances, the audience will accept 80% as 100%. So, if all that’s needed is 80%, this “gives us permission to nip perfectionism in the bud.” Otherwise, the result is usually unnecessary delays. Engaging clients early in the development process, before we consider it perfect, allows for checkpoints along the way, preventing misalignment on the project’s direction and the potential for rework down the road.

Don’t wait to complete your first 80%.

This is all about baby steps. Instead of looking at the whole and feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself this: What is the next incremental task I can do today to move this project forward. One word or one sentence on paper is sometimes all it takes. One phone call is better than no phone call. Chances are, you’ll get into a flow state and before you know it, you’ve written an entire page, chapter, or article.

Complete the second 80%.

This represents a further improvement to the original 80% effort and is best handled by other talented people. When you compound two 80% efforts, the result is 96% completion. As Dan says, “In a world filled with many sub-standard, shoddy, and unsatisfactory results, a 96%-quality project would look and actually be extraordinary.”

Do only the 80% that only you can do.

Owners, entrepreneurs, founders, and project leaders should be firmly entrenched in their unique abilities, producing their 80% portion of the project from their unique abilities only, “where their personal efforts will produce the best and fastest results.”

Community vs. Isolation – 80% vs. 100%.

When each member of a team is striving for 80% rather than 100%, they’re inspired to rely on each other. This leads to a cohesive environment that fosters genuine teamwork, reliance on each other, and community building. If everyone is focused on achieving 100% individually, they become isolated and full of doubt.

Ultimately, when we give ourselves permission to strive for 80% using our highest and best talents only, we start faster, we gain confidence, and we learn to trust in others to exercise their unique talents to move the project forward. As Dan coins it, “By riding the 80% wave of accelerating confidence, you make rapid progress, find it easy, and want to move even faster.”

You can pick up a complimentary copy of Dan’s book The 80% Approach.

Stephen (Steve”) Colwell serves as CEO and head of strategy for Clarify Media and Completing, two Southern California–based firms specializing in marketing and project management. With over 10 years of hands-on agency experience as a copywriter, brand strategist, and project manager, he brings a broad and deep range of both marketing and operations expertise to the community. From strategy and design to growth and performance, Steve offers a rare mix of creative and analytical thinking toward helping creative professionals, teams, and small businesses accelerate their progress and achieve more. He has led project teams responsible for over $100+ million in annual revenue across four continents. A certified Agile practitioner, Steve is fanatical about helping others work in teams more effectively and operate at their best using the same proven routines practiced by today’s top-performing companies.