Small Things. Done Well. And Repeated.

I have been thinking recently about the importance of small things.

This coming weekend I am competing in a 50km trail run at Mt Macedon. Whether I achieve my desired result or not is dependent upon how well I can execute a series of small steps; literally! A single missed step can mean a rolled ankle and the end of my race. If I successfully avoid injury I will still need to concentrate on making every step as perfect and efficient as possible if I am to achieve my time goal. I will also need to apply continuous attention to my breathing; my fluid and salt levels; my energy intake.

In short, to succeed I will need to do all of these small things…really well…repeatedly. These small things are big things in the context of the weekend’s race.

Similarly, I am presently working on a couple of long range projects; one professional and one personal / physical. I realise that the success of these pursuits depends on my (and my partners’) ability to do small things really well.

In all the noise and bustle of life, it is often easy to have your attention drawn away from these small things. If you are employed in a corporate role, distractions abound. There are countless forces working to distract you from the importance of these small things. They can take the form of:

• unnecessary / lengthy internal meetings
• monthly sales forecasts
• office gossip and politics (boring!)

These things rarely contribute positively to the core function of your business.

You’re a business.

You have customers.

Keep your customers happy and you will (likely) keep their business.

However lofty a goal might be, it can be broken down into a series of individual constituent parts. It is the consistent application of attention and effort to these individual components (aka the small things) that leads to the achievement of the overarching goal (aka the big thing).

 It is the small things that make all the difference in the end!