You are what you tolerate

The fastest way to kill your business is through tolerance.

I don’t mean the feel-good kind that decorates corporate office walls, but the dangerous type that lets mediocrity into every corner of your work. The kind that says "This is good enough…" when you know it isn't.

Every time you ship a half-baked product or approve a team member’s subpar performance, you're not just accepting it — you're becoming it. Because your business won’t magically rise above the standards you tolerate.

It will sink exactly to their level.

Look at Founders like Jason Fried, repeatedly redesigning Basecamp's interface until new users could navigate it without training. Or Sara Blakely, personally trying on every Spanx prototype and refusing to release products that didn't meet her standards, even as retailers pressured her for delivery.

I don’t see those as acts of perfectionism. They simply refused to accept "fine" when "excellent" was possible.

To truly understand what uncompromising standards look like, check out this clip of Nick Saban.

Saban was the head coach for the University of Alabama's football program for 17 years. He won about 90% of his games, six national championships, and he’s widely considered one of college football's greatest coaches.

In that clip, Saban’s team is dominating, up 52 points with eight seconds left in the game. And he’s livid because some players missed their assignments. Most coaches would already be celebrating, but Saban is teaching a masterclass in standards. Because those eight seconds? They matter. Every second matters.

That’s how I managed my sales organization when I was in tech. Some people loved it, and others didn’t. But we never settled for mediocrity, and we hit our numbers almost every quarter.

Today, I bring the same attitude to my one-person business. To write good content, to create helpful newsletters, and to build excellent products. Those are always my top priorities.

On the flip side, I see countless entrepreneurs talk about excellence while their actions scream compromise.

They'll spend hours crafting the perfect mission statement about "world-class quality," and then shrug off bad products (or process) because "we're moving fast" or "that's just how it is in our industry."

Sorry, but that's BS.

The truly great entrepreneurs — the ones who build lasting companies — refuse to tolerate mediocrity. They don't accept sloppy work because "the client won't notice." They play until the whistle blows, every single time.

Again, it’s not about perfectionism. It's about having the courage to be honest about what's excellent and what isn't. It’s about being willing to be the "difficult one” who says "This isn't ready" when everyone else is saying it is (even though they know better).

So I want you to ask yourself (and be honest) — Do you ever feel like your business standards are lower than they should be?

If so, identify the three most important aspects of your business — maybe it's your product, your customer service, and team (if you have one). Write down the current standard for each category. And then write down what excellence actually looks like.

The gap between those two? That's what you've been tolerating.

And now here's the hard part: Make the decision to refuse anything that doesn't meet your real standard. Yes, it'll be uncomfortable. Yes, people will push back. And yes, it'll probably slow things down (at first).

But do it anyway.

Because your business is the sum of your tolerances.

Choose carefully.

That’s all for today.

See you next Saturday.