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In a world of sweeping generalizations it is easy to gaze at the big picture and lose sight of the essential details.
As the old saying goes, "The devil is in the details." There is a natural tendency to enjoy the grandeur of the big picture and avoid tending to the details of living. We hunger to reach that vision or achieve that life goal, but we dread the drudgery of the many detailed tasks required to achieve that goal.
In the rush to reach the prize, too many of us overlook the details and sometimes it is what keeps us from our greatest successes.
Contrary to popular belief, the devil isn't the only thing in the details; it is also where you will find success.
Often the most successful achievers take their talent, skills and knowledge for granted and occasionally gloss over the details. This omission can prove to be very costly.
Recently, this principle was illustrated by Tiger Woods, undoubtedly the greatest golfer of all time.
During the last round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, Tiger launched one of golf's greatest come-from-behind drives. He made up four strokes and forced a sudden death playoff. On the first green of extended play Tiger only needed to make a final putt to win the tournament. He knew he had it in the cup, he had made that shot hundreds of times, but he missed and lost the playoff.
Here it is in Tiger's own words: "I was so enthralled with the line, I didn't see the ball mark," Woods said. "I knew if I hit it left-center, the match would be over. It's my fault for not paying attention to detail."
Not only did this oversight cost him the championship and thousands of dollars in winnings but it also ended the second-longest winning streak on the PGA Tour.
"It's not the streak," Woods said. "It's the fact that I'm disappointed I didn't pay attention to detail, something so simple. Something so simple like that escaped me."
Sometimes, possessing the greatest skills and having the most advanced equipment is not enough to make up for overlooking the details. Tending to detail can make the difference between finishing first or second, between winning or losing.
Just a mark on the ball, just an insignificant oversight of a detail. Winning consists of attending to a series of details . . . it is what separates winners from losers, underachievers from the successful.
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Howard Voyles is a co-founder of Focus Publications, which is a leading provider of innovative integrated marketing tools for the title, mortgage and real estate industries. He is a 23-year mortgage industry veteran, has taught insurance and real estate professionals and written extensively for the financial services industry. Voyles has coached more than 1,000 mortgage, title and real estate reps on the use of Focus Publications' products and services. For more information about the company, visit www.focuspub.com. |
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