FORWARD THINKING

May 28, 2025

Shiny Penny Syndrome

Dev

Design

Life

Timothy Nice

“This is what craft is about — the deliberate attention put into making something excellent, not because someone is checking, but because it matters to the maker.” – Karri Saarinen

Forward Flash

This week, I hit that familiar wall: the last 10%. The bugs, the polish, the final edge cases.
The part that’s hardest to care about, right when most people stop caring.
And yet, that last stretch is where the work really shows.
The difference between "done" and "done well" is smaller than most people think, and harder than it looks.

5-Minutes Forward

This week, challenge yourself to:

  • Revisit something you shipped or half-built. Ask yourself: what would the last 10% look like?

  • Take one project and polish it past “done.”

  • Reflect: are you chasing shiny pennies or building something you’re proud of?

We can’t control how the world builds.
But we can control how we build.

Let’s be the kind of people who finish strong.

Other Posts

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What happens when the tool you need doesn’t exist, or just kind of sucks?

Running On Empty

What do I do when I have nothing left in the tank?

May 28, 2025

Shiny Penny Syndrome

Timothy Nice

“This is what craft is about — the deliberate attention put into making something excellent, not because someone is checking, but because it matters to the maker.” – Karri Saarinen

0:00/1:34

Forward Flash

This week, I hit that familiar wall: the last 10%. The bugs, the polish, the final edge cases.
The part that’s hardest to care about, right when most people stop caring.
And yet, that last stretch is where the work really shows.
The difference between "done" and "done well" is smaller than most people think, and harder than it looks.

View All Posts

5-Minutes Forward

This week, challenge yourself to:

  • Revisit something you shipped or half-built. Ask yourself: what would the last 10% look like?

  • Take one project and polish it past “done.”

  • Reflect: are you chasing shiny pennies or building something you’re proud of?

We can’t control how the world builds.
But we can control how we build.

Let’s be the kind of people who finish strong.

Question

Why is it so hard to finish a high quality project?

My Perspective

Some of the most meaningful work I’ve done has come down to this: the choice to finish strong. To care just a little more. To go past “good enough.”

The article Why is quality so rare? by Karri Saarinen put words to a feeling I’ve had for years, that the real enemy of great work isn’t a lack of skill. It’s the lure of speed, the pressure to ship, the distraction of the shiny new idea.

I’ve fallen into it more times than I can count. You get 80% done, maybe even 90%. It works. It looks decent. And then? You’re already thinking about the next thing. Shiny penny syndrome.

But that last 10%? That’s where the soul lives. That’s where pride lives. That’s where you stop building features and start building something you’d put your name on.

In big teams, craft can get lost. Everyone owns a piece, but no one owns the product. And when decisions are driven purely by data, intuition and care take a back seat.

That’s why I’m so hopeful about what AI is enabling.

Not because it replaces us, but because it makes it possible for small, focused teams (or even individuals) to ship real products. To go all the way. To stay close to the work and take real ownership again.

Yes, AI can make things faster. But if we’re not careful, it can also remove the human element that gives work meaning. It can make “efficient” the enemy of “excellent.” We have to fight for the craft. The judgment. The quiet pride in doing something well just because it matters to us.

We need to stop being data-driven and start being data-informed. Let the numbers guide you, not define you. Use AI to handle the tedious stuff, but don’t let it rob the soul of the process.

Craft isn’t dead. But it’s a choice. And these days, it’s an easier one to avoid.