When it Comes to Improvement Sweat the Small Stuff

You’ve probably heard both of these sayings before.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.” and “The devil is in the details.”

That first statement would suggest that worrying about small things is a waste of time and resources, while the second statement suggests quite the opposite, telling us to pay very close attention to each detail.

Big breakthroughs at work are really rare. But small wins are something people can experience pretty regularly if the work is chunked down to manageable pieces. This suggests that you really have to sweat the small stuff.

When it comes to attaining success in Lean you have to, “sweat the small stuff;” more often than not the small stuff makes or breaks successful improvement. Even the small things make a huge difference to what your employees think and the way they act.

A key component of continuous improvement is to show progress. It’s not about miracles or heroic solutions or solving massive problems overnight. It’s about building momentum. It’s showing your employees that you’re headed in the right direction. It’s making visible changes, even slight ones, that show you’re doing something. You’re demonstrating that you support them. You’re giving them a reason to trust you. You’re building faith.

Many in today's workforce ignore the “small stuff,” claiming to have an eye on the bigger picture. People with a passion for improvement do sweat the small stuff. They know that it's the small stuff that can make a big difference––possibly the difference between success and failure. If you have any interest in lasting change than start sweating the small stuff because every little thing does count.