You must sweat the small stuff

Details matter – we all know this, but the tendency in the workplace can be to overlook the small stuff as we focus on the bigger end goal. For Bartlett, this law outlines how success will be defined by your attitude towards these smaller details. He argues that the easiest way to achieve our bigger goals and tasks is by focusing on each of the small steps that get us there.

For his podcast, Bartlett has implemented this law himself. This has meant really examining the finer details such as considering the guests’ favourite music (and playing it quietly in the background when they arrive so that they feel more relaxed and will be subconsciously more open in their conversation), researching the ideal room temperature and ensuring the environment the interviews are held meets that temperature.

It has also meant A/B testing all of his podcast titles to see how people respond to them, employing a data scientist to use AI to translate the podcast into languages from across the world, being mindful of his extensive audience. The list of small details he spends time considering goes on, but what this relentless focus means is that Bartlett is constantly finding tiny ways to improve the podcast experience across the board, little by little. He is considering it from both the perspective of his interviewee and his audience, to ensure the podcast delivers at its best.

This law focuses on the Japanese theory of Kaizen which centres on the principle of harnessing change for continuous development or improvement. Bartlett insists that we are all capable of making small changes, making things better in small ways, daily, and that by doing so we can achieve much bigger outcomes.

The principle put into practice insists that innovation must be the everyday concern of all employees at all levels within a company. One company that harnesses the power of this theory is Toyota, who reports implementing a million new ideas every year. These ideas, just small changes, are suggested by their (largely factory-based) employees with the aim of general improvement, such as increasing the size of water bottles to support their team in drinking more and being better hydrated.

Bartlett also references simple, practical changes such as lowering the height of a shelf so that more people can reach items more easily, and increasing the font on a warning poster by 1 point, simply to make the text stand out that little bit more, and to try and help avoid more accidents.

While Toyota certainly benefited from integrating this philosophy into their workplace (think reduced waste, more engaged workforce, optimised workflows, and, ultimately, increased revenue), there is much that revenue teams can take from this principle too.

Not only does this law serve as a reminder that greatness is achieved through a commitment to continuous refinement and attention to detail, but can remind us as team leaders, managers, or executives, that what may seem like an irrelevant detail to you, can be a very real improvement for your wider team. By adopting a Kaizen mindset and making incremental improvements part of the everyday routine, individuals and companies can unlock substantial long-term achievements that benefit the team on an individual level while also providing the building blocks to achieve larger goals.

All the best,

Becky