Focus on the little things to make big things happen
You may have heard people saying “It’s just a little thing; no big deal!”
Does this mean we should not worry about the little things in life?
I agree not.
On the contrary, I feel it’s these little things that we must focus upon because….
‘Little things make big things happen’
I would say the obvious – all big things are made from little things.
Once you realize this, I am sure you will never see the tiny details of your business as insignificant or boring.
Consumers do not become your loyal customers all of a sudden. You will have to do a lot of strategic planning and try out every little marketing tactic to increase your customer base and gain their trust.
Each and every picture you use, poster you design, advertisement you put up and email you issue out carries the potential to impress a customer and make him your brand loyalist.
Success in business means getting things done in the easiest possible manner. If you are the CEO of a company, you have to make sure you hire the right people and then set a clear direction for them to grow with the company. It’s important to fly low rather than fly high and slow. Leading people is quite a big responsibility that can be overwhelming, at times. You need to be productive and efficient to be successful as a leader. No one evolves into a leader, overnight. You need to take baby steps to build, cultivate and earn your leadership position.
As a director of a design company, I often get asked how we manage to make our work appear so good. It might seem like one big project. But really, the big project is earned by doing a lot of simple and smaller things. Every little detail adds up to our perfect job that you see delivered as a whole.
Here is a story of a little boy told by Earl Nightingale…..
One day this young boy requested his dad to play with him. His father was busy catching up the nightly football game on TV. Also, he was quite tired. So, he just flipped open the pages of the magazine lying on the table, opened up the last page that had the picture of the earth clicked from the outer space, cut it into pieces and handed the cuttings to his son. He asked him to put those pieces together to make a perfect picture, while he resumed watching the game on TV.
The dejected boy retired to his room and set out to work. He appeared some time later, with the picture. Although not perfect, he had done a great job of putting the pieces back together. Father appreciated his efforts and asked him how he could do this in such a short time. To this, the boy replied….
“When I turned over the pieces I saw the picture of a man. As I put the pieces of the man’s picture together, the world started coming together.”
The moral of the story?
It is important to put little things together in order to create bigger things.
At Litmus, it’s these tiny details that we focus upon. This makes a huge difference and sets us apart in our work!
When it comes to running a company, many big things often tend to worry us.
Is it possible for us to achieve the target that we have set for this quarter?
Did we make the right decision while hiring our designers?
Is there any problem with the quality of our service?
Will we be able to meet our deadlines?
Do we have adequate finances to run the company?
If you start acting on these “big things”, you will only end up in a big mess. You have to resist the although it may appear daunting. What you can do is translate these big things into several little things.
For instance, in order to make sure you achieve the target that you have set for the quarter, you need to make sure you make a few, random sales calls and check if you are selling your products effectively. See if you need to train your sales people or if they have enough knowledge of the product or service they are selling.
Monitor the way in which they are trying to push your products/services. Check if they are contacting the right people. Find out if your product is competitive enough. As you start working on these constructive little things, you will be on your way to achieve your goal and more.
Focus on little things to solve the bigger things.
Everything is interconnected. The whole thing might collapse even if a single piece goes missing. The way you deal with the smaller things will determine how well you will succeed with your bigger goals. Do a lot of little things rather than doing little bits of a big thing. Celebrate all your small achievements. Focus on progress not perfection. Design your job to include daily wins on the scoreboard. Create a momentum by taking baby steps every day.