I believe it was Voltaire who said, "The best is the enemy of the good."  In his original poem, the target in view was that of perfectionism.  Perfection is not only impossible to obtain but also becomes very costly trying to achieve.  Nevertheless, many creative people become so pleasantly enamored with their work that they begin to view it as perfect ... as the best.  Here our Voltairian phrase takes on new meaning.  The realization of perfection is impossible to obtain, but assigning the label of perfection to a work cripples appropriate improvement.  So, how do you strive for the good without being derailed by the best?  Here are three safeguards to consider.

Prioritization

No project can do it all.  When it tries, it doesn't do anything well.  No project can be all things to all people.  When it tries, it become nothing to anyone.  So, before you begin, decide what your project needs to accomplish.  Prioritize what is most important.  This will help you see what efforts will move you toward the good as opposed to the best.

Example: You want your project to be hip and trendy, but it needs to appeal to a professional (and rather stuffy) crowd.  Yes, there is a way to marry these two with artistic integrity, but it will require some compromise.  To know how heavily to lean in which direction, you simply look back at your priorities.  Which is more important?  Which is more profitable?  Which is more attainable?

Personnel

It is common practice among designers to have a "fresh pair of eyes" look over a project before it is submitted.  Unfortunately, this is too often viewed as a sort of proof-read or exercise in sycophantism.  We each need much more than that.  We need people in our professional lives who will challenge us without fear or retribution.  We need, as the Proverb says, to be sharpened "as iron sharpens iron."

Example: I have been getting my butt kicked by a project this week.  I needed help from a colleague of mine to code something properly, and the project it self had been in constant fluctuation.  I finally had the project ready when my assistant Kristen said, "Doesn't the footer bother you?"  The truth was that it hadn't bothered me, not one little bit, and much of me didn't want to let it bother me.  In aiming for the best project I had missed something for the good of the project.  Thankfully Kristen didn't shy away from the sharpening process.

Planning

I certainly doubt that very many worthwhile inventors find their successes in their first attempts.  They come up with what we call prototypes.  They make early versions of future products.  The whole purpose of these prototypes are to fail.  From their failure areas of potential success are realized.  We can learn from this model.  Plan to reevaluate the project periodically to see what works and what doesn't.  From there, improvements can be made for the good without delaying a launch in hopes of the best.

In conclusion:
In order to serve our clients well, we must do things are truly for their good as opposed to what we hope is the best.  To accomplish this, we must be mindful and intentional about our work.  We must seek help to keep our pride and passivity in check.  And, we must be willing and expecting to make performance-base improvements.  With these safeguards in place, we are likely to do work for the good of our clients and for the project itself.