Little + Little + Little = Big

A bounding ball, sharply hit to short, fielded and thrown to second. Straddling the bag, the second baseman catches, pivots and fires the ball onward. Stretching with focused reach, the man at first catches the ball only slightly before the batter comes down on the base with a stomp. Double play.

Enjoying the MLB playoffs makes me think of how much details matter. In baseball, a double play is huge, especially in October. Not counting the simplest of the tasks required in turning a double play--catching a thrown ball--there are 5 actions that need to be executed. Since catching the ball is required to make outs the number of required actions increases to 7.

(1) The pitcher hurls an appropriately located pitch to induce a grounder. (2) The shortstop (using the above example) fields the baseball cleanly. (3) The ball is then thrown accurately to the second baseman. (4) The second baseman catches and (5) pivots, using precise footwork to avoid the on coming runner, (6) throws the ball to first base quickly enough to beat the batter racing down the baseline. (7) A good throw is caught by the first baseman before the batter reaches the base. If any of these 7 little actions break down and do not happen just so, the big result is lost.

High performance depends on the execution of the small things that really are the building blocks of the achievement itself. I believe this principle applies to most any area of effort that has vision behind it.

Broken down into small parts, exceptional parenting showcases this concept. Good parents listen and communicate well. Discipline is taken seriously, paying attention to both instruction of good behavior and correction of misbehavior. Clear expectations are set, outside influences are filtered, opportunities for safe exploration are allowed, and other things (this can become a long list) are all managed by quality parents with well adjusted and high functioning kids the prize.

Business, project management and leadership are other areas where the little things add up to something special. Of course, the opposite is true; when the details are ignored or become secondary, the results are less than ideal. Just like beauty, results are in the eye of the beholder. What I consider bad and not in good taste is another's pride. But that is another subject altogether.

Work hard on the details and the big stuff will come together.