The opposite of perfect

Think of an organisation or a person you admire.

My bet is that they’re far from perfect.

Yet the image we see of them might look very perfect because of what they’ve chosen make public (vs what they keep to themselves).

Not to be manipulative – it’s just the stuff we’re accustomed to putting out to the world. We share our achievements, our expertise, qualifications, experience, and so on.

Yet in many scenarios, “looking perfect” is the very thing that can make you look like you’re hiding something.

So how do you avoid that?

Don’t gloss over your areas for improvement 🤨

Talk about all the wonderful climate-related things your organisation is doing BUT ALSO balance them with the things that are not wonderful that you’re working to improve – even if you haven’t actually started the improving yet.

By talking about stuff you’re still working on, it does a couple of things:

1. It shows you’re constantly working on your climate policy, rather than it being a thing you did once
2. It forces you to move beyond that image of perfection we’re so accustomed to creating (a curated set of accomplishments, with zero mistakes or conceivable improvements) and create a more human image.

Many – even the dictionary! – believe imperfect is the opposite of perfect.

I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but they’re all wrong.

Imperfect is not the opposite of perfect… transparent is the opposite of perfect.

You’re either one or the other – but not both.