The Magic of Imperfection , livre ebook

THE MAGIC OF IMPERFECTION
THE MAGIC OF IMPERFECTION
The Baked Secret to Unlocking Innovation and Getting More Done
JASON F. MCLENNAN
The Magic of Imperfection
Copyright 2025 by by Jason F. McLennan
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First Edition
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2025007692
ISBN 9798890571014 (paperback)
ISBN 9798890571021 (pdf )
ISBN 9798890571038 (epub)
2025-1
Book production: Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Cover design: Ashley Ingram
This book is dedicated to all the four-legged family that have played such an important part of my life and my family s life over the years: Melinka, Samantha, Athena, Papillon (Pappy), Luna, Sammie, Archibald (Archie), and North.
Our lives have been enriched by their love and devotion.
Contents
Ode to the Baked Cookie
Preface
INTRODUCTION: The Baked Recipe for Success
CHAPTER 1: Avoiding the Chase for Perfection
CHAPTER 2: Looking Forward to Failure
CHAPTER 3: The Magic of Feedback
CHAPTER 4: Calibration and the Baked Way
CHAPTER 5: The Magic of the Deadline
CHAPTER 6: The Magic of Momentum
CHAPTER 7: Slaves to Process
CHAPTER 8: Backcasting for Success
CHAPTER 9: Becoming a Trim Tab
CHAPTER 10: Nested Time on the Brain s Right Side
CHAPTER 11: The Magic of the Baked Team
CHAPTER 12: Baked in the Modern Age
CONCLUSION: This Book Is Baked (An Invitation More Than a Conclusion)
CONCLUSION-THE SEQUEL: Since the Book Is Baked, Why Can t I Have Two Conclusions?
Discussion Guide
The DNA of the Problem Makers
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
Ode to the Baked Cookie
I LOOK IN THE OVEN at the cookies baking inside.
Mouth watering, I prepare to eat the perfect mix of cooked dough and chocolate chips . . . with a glass of cold milk, of course.
But why are the windows into ovens always so crappy? Peering through the dimly lit interior, I try to gauge color and firmness. . . .
Not wanting to open the oven too soon and upset the delicate thermal balance, I try to guess the right moment to take the cookies out.
Too soon, and they are gooey and undercooked. Too late, and the bottom burns and the cookies dry out; once cooled, they are inedible as far as I am concerned.
And they keep cooking! The pan remains hot after emerging and the cookies continue to firm - it is not so straightforward as the recipe suggests, if you believe that so much delight is at stake.
So I have learned from experience to take my cookies out when baked, and to let the universe finish what I have begun. I can watch them become perfect in the light of day and then enjoy how flour, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, and chocolate can come together . . . like a sacred thing.
Preface
AUTHOR S SHOULD NEVER WRITE a book if they re not clear about who it s for.
I think this book is for you!
Why you?
Well, I can guess that this book was given to you by someone who knows you well or found its way to you because you have important work to do, important ideas to share, and important causes to support. You wish to do things that matter.
When you are mission driven, you always need to know how to be more effective and impactful.
That s easier said than done, it seems.
And even if you are not overly mission driven and you just want to know how to get more done without so much effort and stress - perhaps to have more time for family and recreation - well, that s okay too, as this book can help you radically, almost magically, increase your output over time as you apply its lessons.
Life has a habit of getting in the way. We never seem to have enough time to dedicate to the things we love, and we so often get bogged down with efforts that are not advancing our careers, our education, our mission, or things we care about. We all struggle with time management and not having enough time - period.
Why is it so hard to just get things done?
How would you like to radically accelerate your ability to get work done with significantly greater effectiveness - all while having more time left over for other things you care about?
If this sounds attractive - then, yes, this book is for you.
This book is intended to help you increase your success rate so that you can achieve the goals and aspirations you ve set out for yourself.
It will show you how to more effectively make time both for work and for the things and people you love by changing your mindset and your process for getting things done.
My Mission of Change
When I started my career, I decided that I wanted to dedicate my life to creating positive change using architecture and design as my tools of trade. My love for the environment and its many glorious, rare, and beautiful creatures motivates me to look for solutions for how we live, work, and build that upend the trajectory of modern architecture and city-making, which often puts the built environment at odds with the natural environment. Each day, I work to create buildings and environments that can be regenerative and work as levers for healing the environment. I have designed many buildings, for example, that run only on solar power, operate nearly pollution free, and work solely with the water that falls on their rooftops, along the way creating exceptional habitats for both people and other living things - buildings I call Living Buildings because they prioritize life.
I have written several books about this topic and continue to practice with an incredible team of architects, engineers, scientists, and designers doing projects all over the world. But that is not what this book is about. In fact, this book isn t about architecture at all - it s a book for anyone who wants to become more effective and innovative in any work they do.
This book is about how, despite increasing headwinds, you can get massive quantities of things done efficiently in service to your personal mission every year using a very particular philosophy of change I have developed: the baked secret. Its core tenets are based on some of these things I ve learned over time: It s not enough to simply work hard. Lots of people work hard. To be a changemaker, you must match your strategic efforts with clarity . It s not enough to be talented either. Lots of people are talented as well. You have to find ways to express and harness your talent through continuous feedback in order to hone and fine-tune it so that the talent becomes effective . Working effectively means working very differently than how most people tend to work, upending conventional approaches to productivity, collaboration, and risk-taking. Working effectively requires a new mindset and way of seeing the world. Getting things done is a discipline , and by focusing on what is essential and minimizing time spent on what is not (and knowing how to tell the difference), you can create dramatic shifts in productivity.
With the baked secret, you can become highly effective, prolific, and efficient in anything you do, whether it is architecture, business, music, writing, or some other creative or non-creative pursuit. This book will help leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, students, and doers of any kind be more productive and innovative.
Through a lot of practice and trial and error, I ve also developed a whole theory of productivity. I call it baked thinking , and it s what this book is based on. When people use baked thinking effectively, they can get remarkable amounts of work done - at a high quality - in a short amount of time by harnessing a form of magical imperfection.
And you can do this too!
Your Turn!
Maybe you marvel at those who somehow manage to get a lot done. I bet they ve learned the baked secret of the magic of imperfection.
I love when people ask me, How do you get so much done?! They re amazed at how I constantly and seemingly effortlessly generate ideas and results, without realizing that they, too, can become just as effective and efficient, if they only approach things a little differently.
This book tells you how.
You can t strike out if you don t get up to bat in life - or, as Babe Ruth once said, Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.
Introduction The Baked Recipe for Success
An army of sh