Army Jump Masters Conducting An Inspection Prior To A Jump. They Know Details Matter
Attention to Detail is a phrase that I often hear in a business environment. I often wonder if people truly understand the value and importance of it. Attention to Detail was something that I had drilled into me as a young U.S. Army Officer. “Pay Attention to Detail, Lieutenant, or you are going to get someone killed”! I heard my Company Commanders preach this often. In my first job as a Tank Platoon Leader, I had many tasks, some important and some that appeared less important. One example would be preparing my platoon to for a month long desert training exercise. It would be easy to spot check the soldiers and equipment and say everything was prepared to go, but if I failed to pay Attention to Detail it could create huge issues down the road. Did we pack all of the radios? Yes sir! I could have easily left it at that, we are supposed to have radios, and they are packed, check. If I have failed to inspect in greater detail and found out that we had failed to pack the cables, vehicle mounts, and antennas along with the radios, then our radios would have been nothing more than useless 20 pound paper weights. If you don’t pay attention to the seemingly minor details, you are in for big problems at a later date.
The radio example I used is minor in comparison to some of the Attention to Detail challenges our military faces today in Afghanistan. Before going on patrol, leaders conduct detailed pre-combat inspections of every soldier in their unit. Squad leaders check their soldiers for important things (weapons, ammunition, water) to seemingly minor things (pen, paper, extra socks, gloves). Civilians may think that grown men and women should be able to do these checks themselves and there is no need for someone else to check. Military leaders understand the absolute importance of this level of Attention to Detail. Every item checked is critical to the mission and if they are not present, then someone’s life could be in jeopardy. The 101st Airborne Division has a 16 page detailed checklist for all kinds of situations.
You can see the importance they have placed on the detail. Think about the threat that Improvised Explosive Devices or IEDs have posed to our troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. These explosive devises are hidden among the every day trash and debris found along the roads and trails that soldiers travel every day. They must by pay attention to the most minute detail; trash that does not belong, earth recently moved, tiny wires along the roadway. The results can be deadly if they miss the details.
When I first started Army ROTC as a college student, I thought the focus on things like uniform appearance, haircut, and shined shoes served no purpose. For the Class A uniform there is an entire section of a manual for how precise each insignia, badge and ribbon should be worn. I have spent hours upon hours of my life with a ruler trying to get the ribbons precisely 1/8” above the pocket and my airborne wings set just right. I have come to realize that this is another way that the Army is creating a culture of Attention to Detail. Think about your company or organization. Do you have a culture focused on Attention to Detail?
In the early 1980s rock band Van Halen had in their contract with each concert venue that they must have M&M candy in the dressing room, but it stipulated no brown M&Ms. Sounds like a bunch of rock star BS right? Actually it is a pretty ingenious way to check the Attention to Detail for the concert venue. According to this article then lead singer David Lee Roth talks about why it was done.
“Roth said VH(Van Halen) had a large and complicated stage show in the 1980s, one that demanded the attention of promoters and the people moving the band’s equipment. To ensure that those responsible for staging their concerts had thoroughly read about the many technical needs, band members inserted the M&M reference in their contracts as a test. If the candy wasn’t right, they had reason to be concerned about similar inattention to serious issues like electricity and load stress.”
How can you apply Attention to Detail to your business or career? I’ll start with an example from my past. I had been working for a Fortune 500 company and my boss was also a former Army Officer. The senior leadership of our company was coming to visit our location. If things went well, we would likely receive some much needed capital to upgrade our business. We paid attention to every detail. We planned on conducting a tour of our facility, so we had a rehearsal the day prior. We walked the tour route and ensure that everything was clean, orderly and in its place. On the day of the visit briefing guides, name cards, and safety glasses arranged in the conference room. Water and coffee were set up. The entire staff was wearing the same shirt. Can you guess how the visit went? When the Companies’ senior leaders arrived, they were extremely impressed at the Attention to Detail and how everything was so well prepared. The day went off with out a hitch and we received the needed capital. They had confidence that if our team paid that kind of attention to a visit, then we would also have that same level of focus on the business.
Think about other areas of your business. Are you paying to attention to the details that matter? If you have a retail store, do you take the time to notice how people enter your store? Have you taken the time and observed where their eyes gravitate to upon entering? How do they move from the entrance to your counter? Paying attention to the details can unlock revenue opportunities. Do people automatically look to the right upon entering? What should you put there? Do you have a web-based business? Do you really pay attention to the detail that Google Analytics provides? What do people click most? Where is it placed? Do people sign up for your email list more when it is in the upper right corner versus lower left? Details are extremely important but don’t get so tied to analyzing the details that you don’t make a decision and take action.
What do you think? How important is Attention to Detail? What examples do you have?
