It’s the little things.
We’ve all heard this phrase a time or twenty.
It might sound cliché. But it rings true.
We celebrate big dreams and grand visions. And yet, it’s the minutia that so often determines whether those dreams are realized.
This reality is not sexy or glamorous. But it’s important and worth discussing.
Quality assurance.
It’s a clunky term. One that seems like it belongs in a legal textbook.
Still, it’s one of the core principles of commerce today. Most modern businesses have a quality assurance process. Some even have an entire department committed to QA.
The goal of quality assurance is straightforward — catch and correct defects before they reach consumers. And the key to success in this venture is an unwavering attention to detail.
We tend to take quality assurance for granted — except when it fails. Stories of tainted aspirin, listeria-laden ice cream, and faulty aeronautical equipment have become infamous over the years.
These developments have given the quality assurance discipline a black eye. But it deserves better.
You see, there was a time when quality assurance was nonexistent. Items were crafted piecemeal, unbeholden to stringent production standards. If something went wrong in the manufacturing process, it was an unlucky consumer who suffered the consequences.
Then along came Henry Ford. The purveyor of the Model T automobile brought the concept of the assembly line to the mainstream. Instead of small groups of engineers building one vehicle at a time, a litany of workers mass-produced them in sequence.
Each employee was responsible for their own portion of construction. And those responsibilities included stringent attention to detail.
After all, workers on Ford’s assembly line had but one job to do. And they needed to do it with expert precision.
Thanks to the assembly line, the promise of the Model T was twofold. Not only would the vehicle be readily available for consumers, but it would also be reliable. This allowed Ford to price it affordably, spurring the world into the automotive era.
Soon, the assembly line proliferated across the industrial world. And with it came a broader adoption of quality assurance.
Through this process, attention to detail went from a nice-to-have to a silent expectation. But then, we forgot about it.
For shame.
I was in my baseball uniform, practicing catching fly balls when I heard the booming voice of my head coach.
Bring it in, he said.
I jogged toward the infield, where some of my teammates had already gathered. We knew a speech was coming.
Y’all are in middle school now, the coach began. You’re a long way from applying to college. But when you do, you’ll need to take something called the SAT. Does anyone know what that stands for?
We were silent.
Standard Aptitude Test, the coach continued. They’re measuring your aptitude — what you know.
By now, we were all confused. We were here to play baseball, not learn about a strange test that was years away. What on earth was this coach talking about?
We all need to improve our aptitude on the baseball diamond, said the coach. Sure, y’all can hit, catch, and throw. But how well do you understand the game and the different situations you’ll face? How closely do you pay attention to detail?
These words awakened something in me. Something I didn’t know was there.
I wasn’t the biggest, strongest, or most talented kid on the team. But now, I had a clear purpose — to pay attention to the details and use them to my advantage.
This process didn’t do much for my baseball exploits. I never even made it to the varsity level in high school.
Nonetheless, it had a profound impact on my life.
Sweating the small stuff gave me a semblance of control in a world that often lacked it. And as I grew older, this focus endeared me to others.
Now, attention to detail is a core component of my life. I break each day into processes, and I think about everything that belongs in each process. When something is missing or off-kilter, I take note of it. And if I have the power to fix it, I do so.
I have no doubt that my focus on the minutia has been critical to all the success I’ve seen. It’s changed the way others see me, and the way I’ve seen myself.
But while attention to detail has made a difference for me, it shouldn’t be a differentiator.
Some years back, I attended an insurance seminar. At the podium was the chief executive officer of one of Dallas’ largest brokerages.
At some point, someone asked the CEO about his thoughts on a startup company that had been making waves in the insurance industry.
Their loss ratio is 126, he flatly replied. They’re paying out $126 for every $100 they bring in. It’s bad business and it won’t last.
I reacted to this response with delight. I worked in the insurance industry, and this buzzy startup presented a significant threat to my employer. I returned to the office gleefully predicting the startup’s demise.
It never came.
The startup continued to operate like a leaky rowboat, taking on water and showing no signs of profitability. But Venture Capitalists in Silicon Valley kept pouring funding into their coffers.
I was astounded. But I shouldn’t have been.
The technology industry has long been filled with renegades. Apple captured the world’s attention with its 1984 commercial. Facebook rallied around the mantra Move fast and break things.
The message was clear. Details and protocol were irrelevant. It was all about the vision.
This ethos carried the day for quite a while. But now, it’s facing a reckoning.
Apple has seen more success after founder Steve Jobs’ passing than before it. Facebook is embroiled in perpetual scandal. Startup darlings WeWork and Uber nearly went under due to substantial gaps between their visions and their realities.
While that flashy insurance startup hasn’t met the same fate as the others, it must remain wary. That company will need more than just a visionary idea to survive long-term.
Attention to detail matters. It always has, and it always will.
It matters in technology. It matters in business. It matters in life.
We can ignore the details all we want. We can continue to focus on the flash, the buzz, the sizzle.
But we do so at our own peril.
Yes, the little things really do make a big difference.
And so, I will continue to sweat the small stuff. I will maintain my laser focus on the minutia, day in and day out.
I hope you’ll join me.