You just woke up yet tired.

Breakfast is a bowl of foggy overthinking mixed with excitement and anxiety.

Sounds like you are overworked about some decisions.

• Where should I live? Dubai or Paris?
• What should I build? E-commerce or a software company?
• Why should I be with this person? (co-founder, friend, wife)
• Where should I invest in? Real estate, crypto or startups?
• What should I eat? The chicken burger or the steak?

Those are the types of decisions you face all the time (especially the burger vs steak).

How do you take good decisions? What is a good decision?

Only a couple of things really matter when taking a decision:

• how fast you take it
• how clear it is
• how ultimately great the outcomes are

Clearly, some decisions are easier to take than others (and yes, it will be steak).

Why is that?

Probably a bunch of things: maybe you slept well, maybe you already had previous experiences, maybe chicken is not your taste (just to be clear, I love chicken).

But one thing I noticed is that the decision making game isn't about the decisions themselves.

It's mostly about the decision maker.

If you pick the same decision with the same constrains and give it to 100 decision makers.

• Some will be lighting fast, some will be existentially slow.
• Some will be crystal clear, some will be amazingly unclear.

You will observe clearly that it's mostly about the decision maker.

So, what's the difference between these decision makers?

Many things could affect them: past experiences, taste sensitivity, failure tolerance and also a bunch of hormones.

But there is one thing that kills decision making (and the decision maker).

It's to not take a decision.

But wait, let me be clear.

Not taking a decision doesn't mean "I will not do X" or "I will decide later at X deadline". Those are decisions.

No decisions means: you are not taking a decision.

Your brain is still working on it. You still have the decision-foggy-breakfast-bowl.

You are just frozen, in front of the menu, not able to pick anything.

The waiter is waiting.

And here is one of the little cutie devils that can cause it: perfectionism.

Today, dear perfectionist friends, I want to share you a little tool to help.

It's called the Ofman Quadrant.

What's cool about the Ofman Quadrant is that it's a tool. So it's quick to use.

And it's a pretty good one, so it gives a lot of clarity.

It's also amazingly amazing to beat perfectionism.

Perfectionism is when you refuse to accept anything below perfection.

It sounds great (like you have high standards and stuff).

But what it really means is: refusal of acceptance of any flaws.

And it looks like everything and everyone has flaws.

So, perfectionism = refusal of reality.

Refusal of reality doesn't seem to be a good thing when it comes to taking decisions.

What make things great isn't refusal of flaws, it's the striving force to always want to do better.

You could accept flaws, yet strive to do better.

You could refuse flaws, yet do nothing to get better.

Why do we spill into perfectionism?

It could be a bunch of things. Like hormones, childhood trauma and 6 hours a day of Instagram.

But, here is another funny thing about the Ofman Quadrant: it's helping you seeing the qualities behind the flaws.

If I ask you "what's the flaw you absolutely love about your girlfriend?" and your reply would be "I don't know, how can I like a flaw?".

Then you need to work on your perfectionism and let's use the Ofman Quadrant for that.

Here is how it works:

1) The Core Quality (the superpower)

This is something that seriously stands out from the person / city / investment, whatever you are analyzing.

2) The Pitfall (the superpower on a super tired-drunk-cocaine night)

A core quality becomes a problem when you overdose it.

3) The Challenge (the antidote that would counterbalance)

This is the balancing quality you need in order to avoid the pitfall of the overdosed superpower quality.

4) The Allergy (when the overdosed antidote becomes a problem)

This is the fun part. And this is when the cycle part of the quadrant comes in.

The allergy is what would happen if you over-use the antidote quality.

Let's analyze perfectionism as an example (which here, I will put as a flaw):

• Core quality: high standards (attention to details, always pushing for better)
• Pitfall: perfectionism (never shipping, endless dissatisfaction)
• Challenge: pragmatic good-enough acceptance (reliable shipping, consistent progress)
• Allergy: sloppy low-standards (people who don't care, don't pay attention & efforts)

You can now see how the dynamic works.

Let's do another one: being honestly direct (which here, I will put as a quality):

• Core quality: direct honesty (clear communication & intentions, non-bullshit attitude)
• Pitfall: brutality (being hurtful, lacking empathy or emotional support)
• Challenge: diplomacy (tact with care, collaborative communication)
• Allergy: hypocrisy (people pleasing, lying)

We got 4 parts.

Again you see how the cycle works.

So how do you use this tool in real life?

• You take your problem.
• You find the quality you absolutely love behind it.
• And you map the 4 corners.
• Can you find a better alternative? Can you accept it? Can you fix it? You take your decision.

Or

• You take your problem.
• You find the flaw you despise behind it.
• And you map the 4 corners.
• Can you find a better alternative? Can you accept it? Can you fix it? You take your decision.

You can use this to analyze many things:

• yourself, your friend, your wife, your co-founder
• countries, cultures, politics, systems
• career paths, markets, investments

What's funny about this tool is that it ends up in a weird paradoxical loop.

Flaws and qualities are contextual. Admiration and despise often come from the same place.

So here it is, now you can pick your poisons (or order the entire menu at the restaurant).

Because in every poison, there is something dangerously great about it.