Analysis Paralysis

A pottery teacher split her class into two halves.

To the first half she said, “You will spend the semester studying pottery, planning, designing, and
creating your perfect pot. At the end
of the semester, there will be a competition to see whose pot is the best”.

To the other half she said, “You will spend your semester making lots of pots. Your grade will be
based on the number of completed pots you
finish. At the end of the semester, you’ll also have the opportunity to enter your best pot into a
competition.”

The first half of the class threw themselves into their research, planning, and design. Then they
set about creating their one, perfect pot
for the competition.

The second half of the class immediately grabbed fistfuls of clay and started churning out pots.
They made big ones, small ones, simple
ones, and intricate ones. Their muscles ached for weeks as they gained the strength needed to throw
so many pots.

At the end of class, both halves were invited to enter their most perfect pot into the competition.
Once the votes were counted, all of the
best pots came from the students that were tasked with quantity. The practice they gained made them
significantly better potters than the
planners on a quest for a single, perfect pot.