The Complacency Trap

Calling something “good enough” is often just complacency in disguise. It’s like declaring mission accomplished when you’re only a few miles into a marathon. Sure, your product or strategy might be adequate for now, but adequacy doesn’t turn heads. Adequacy doesn’t get people talking. It lulls you into thinking you’ve arrived, when in fact you’ve barely started. Meanwhile, competitors that aren’t satisfied with fine are continuously improving, experimenting, and pushing boundaries. Today’s “good enough” quickly becomes tomorrow’s obsolete.

Consider the fate of companies that rested on their laurels: Blockbuster was fine with its business model until Netflix rewrote the rules. Kodak thought film would be good enough forever, missing the digital photography wave. In each case, complacency born from prior success turned into decline. If you ever catch yourself saying, “This will do for now,” it’s a clear warning sign that growth is about to stall. Fine is a plateau – and a plateau in business is the first step toward a cliff.

Fine Is Forgettable

Another brutal truth: fine is forgettable. We live in a world bombarded by marketing messages, products, and content. Psychologist Herbert Simon said it back in 1971: a wealth of information means a dearth of something else – a lack of attention. Dave Trott, a legend in advertising, often notes that around 90% of all advertising is ignored and unremembered. Why? Because it’s average. It’s “fine.” The same applies to products and brands. If what you offer is just like everyone else and simply good enough, it will blend into the background noise.

Think about it from a customer’s perspective: Do you rave to your friends about a fine experience? Do you remember the moderately acceptable product packaging, or the website that was okay but unremarkable? Of course not. People recall the amazing and the atrocious – the extremes. Fine falls into the vast middle ground of mediocrity that no one has time to notice. In practical terms, that means a “fine” brand will struggle to get referrals, press, or word-of-mouth. It’s just another pretty decent option among countless others. A growth-oriented founder can’t afford to be stuck in that unseen middle.

Imagine a chef who aims to cook meals that are just edible. Diners won’t complain, but they certainly won’t come back in droves or post glowing reviews. Restaurants with months-long waitlists aren’t serving “fine” food – they’re serving something distinctive that people either love or at least find interesting enough to talk about. In business, if you’re not generating strong reactions, you’re not generating growth. Fine doesn’t spark passion.

The Real Risks of “Good Enough”

Staying in the safety of good-enough has several hidden risks for a growing business:

• Missed Opportunities: When you settle, you stop looking for better solutions. You might pass over a game-changing idea because it seemed risky or required extra effort beyond the status quo. Entire markets can shift while you’re busy being comfortable.

• Competitive Disadvantage: If your mindset is “don’t fix what isn’t broken,” competitors with a “break it and rebuild it better” mindset will overtake you. They’ll attract the customers and talent that crave the best, not the adequate.

• Cultural Stagnation: Tolerating mediocrity in your company culture sends a message to your team that settling is okay. Ambitious employees will either get frustrated or mirror that attitude. Neither is good for innovation.

• Customer Apathy: Today’s customers have endless alternatives. If your product or service is just okay, customers won’t hate it, but they won’t love it either – and indifference is more dangerous than dislike. At least a bad product gives you clear signals on what to improve; a “fine” product just languishes.

• Erosion of Differentiation: Startups often succeed by doing something remarkably well or differently. If you revert to the mean – making your offering just as okay as everyone else’s – you lose the sharp edge that gave people a reason to choose you.

In short, “fine” today leads to fragile tomorrow. It’s an illusion of safety that leaves you exposed. The cost of inaction or of half-hearted action might not show up immediately, but it accumulates. A competitor launches a superior feature; a new trend shifts consumer expectations; a minor flaw you never improved turns into a reputation issue. By the time you react, you’ve lost ground.

Beyond Fine: Embrace the Pursuit of Greatness

Growth demands a mindset of continuous healthy dissatisfaction.
This doesn’t mean perfectionism in a crippling sense – it means always asking, “How can this be better? How can we push this further?” It’s the mentality that keeps startups hungry and inventive. Instead of saying “It’s fine,” great entrepreneurs say, “It’s good – now how do we make it outstanding?”

Here’s how founders and solo operators can avoid the fine trap and ignite growth:

• Set Audacious Goals: Dave Trott famously highlights that creativity requires courage – doing what others won’t42courses.com. Aim for outcomes that scare you a little. If your goal feels comfortably achievable, it’s probably not transformative enough.
  
  

• Encourage Experimentation: Create room for your team (or yourself) to try bold ideas. Not every experiment will work, but the process keeps you from stagnating. A fine operation fears failure; a growth operation fears missing out on potential.
  
  

• Listen to Discomfort: If feedback from customers or advisors makes you uncomfortable – e.g., “your product is okay, but we really wish it could do X better” – don’t shrug it off. That discomfort is fuel for improvement. Chase it rather than avoid it.
  
  

• Benchmark Against the Best: Compare yourself to the leaders in your field or even in other industries. If you’re building a new e-commerce brand, measure your customer experience not against other scrappy startups, but against Amazon or Apple. That sets a higher bar than “fine” ever would.
  
  

• Celebrate Progress, Not Plateau: When you hit a target, enjoy the moment, but quickly refocus on the next challenge. Treat “fine” as a rest stop, not your destination. Growth is a continuous journey, not a one-time win.

Key Takeaway

Every time you catch yourself saying “It’s fine,” pause and dig deeper. Fine is the enemy of growth because it tricks us into thinking we’re done when we’ve barely started. Early-stage brand builders thrive when they replace “good enough” with “what’s next?”. By refusing to settle – by always seeking that extra 10x improvement or that bold creative twist – you keep your venture moving forward and upward.

In business, you’re either growing or you’re shrinking; there’s no standing still. So don’t let “fine” lull you into stagnation. Be grateful for what works, yes – but stay hungry for what could work amazingly. Growth comes when “good enough” gives way to greatness.