Details Will Make You Win

Whatever you try to create or do in life, there will always be a debate about the extent one should look into the details. How much time and effort should be invested to continue ameliorating one’s work? What is the correct balance to a constant drive to push further? When can you consider that what you have created is good enough to share it or commercialize it? Perfect is the enemy of good. You need to put clear limits and have milestones as to where you will feel sufficiently satisfied to share your work. Everything can be constantly improved and some people have a hard time to let go. It is important to know when to draw the line. To start receiving the precious feedback to learn and improve what you are creating. Innovation is a process that needs a constant back and forth to be efficient. On the other hand, when speaking about details, less is usually not more. One of the most important skills we look for in people we hire, is their attention to detail. It is their capacity to challenge and push themselves. To look into things over and over again. To be precise and consistent. To be thorough. Too many times we are faced with a job that we consider half way done for the only reason that details have been overlooked. Professional trust is something we build gradually and small details can count greatly. Having the assurance that a collaborator is meticulous makes a big difference in your assessment of her performance. It pays dividends to be in the details. In today’s global world, competition is only increasing. Consumers are getting use to standards of quality that far outreach what was needed in the past. To succeed, you need to do more, better and again more. The importance of having the right personal attitude vis-à-vis of details is only going to grow. A great idea or concept, which has the not right level of execution, cannot expect to be a winner in the marketplace. And execution is often linked to details. The general public will often try to find what doesn’t work, what could have been done better in anything you try to do or sell. You can leverage this general disposition to your advantage. By recognizing these details that count, you create the incremental difference that separate you from the rest. You also please your audience. Never forget that the consumer is the real boss. The conclusion is simple: be ready to move ahead and test the water with your creation several times along the way so you can be sure you are heading in the right direction. But pay attention to details carefully. They will make you win in the long run. Thomas Manner is a specialist in neuroscience and the brain training field in general.