Little Things Matter

Sales Man Up

Little Things Matter

Enjoy the satisfaction that comes from doing little things well. H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“ Irma was a long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that reached category 5 intensity … and struck southwestern Florida at category 3 intensity. Irma caused widespread devastation across the affected areas and was one of the strongest and costliest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic basin.” - National Hurricane Center Report, June, 2018.

By the time Hurricane Irma reached central Florida, in early September of 2017, her intensity had ebbed a little. Now as a Cat 3, she still packed a formidable punch, with threatening winds boasting of gusts of over 100 mph. Like most Floridians, we tracked Irma’s approach ; and when the storm turned to head northward up the middle of the state, we all got a lot more serious about our preparations. On a last minute whim, I decided to use some zip ties on each of the three gates connected to the wooden fence that surrounds the perimeter of our back yard. I could envision these gates rattling in 90 mph wind, flying open, ripping off their hinges; and becoming airborne projectiles firing upon my neighbors. Yeah, I’m really sorry that your SUV was impaled by my wooden gate !

Irma showed up that night with a fury. The winds were howling with such intensity that our chimney was whistling. After buckets of rain and wind, and lots of prayers; the sun broke the horizon onto a changed neighborhood. No, all the houses remained intact, thank God, but trees were down, electricity was off ,and life began to stir again as each of us assessed our damage. As I rounded the corner on the west side of our property, I was amazed by what I saw- twenty feet of wooden fence along with a gate suspended by one single zip tie ! Small things do matter.

The little positive things that we do on a daily basis, sometimes even automatically, without thinking; become the zip ties that hold our lives together. Once these small habits become ingrained in us, we feel awkward or uncomfortable when they are not completed ; like not putting on our seatbelt in the car. The most successful people I have observed in life and in business, do a lot of little things right- and they do them consistently. AviationPro.com states that a Boeing 747 cargo jet is held together by roughly 850,000 rivets. Another source estimates that over 40,000 rivets are used in the construction of just one jumbo jet wing ! One rivet is not that impressive, but when you combine it with 39,000 others, you create a mode of transportation that defies gravity!

Conversely, the small things we do can have a negative impact on us - like not returning our phone calls or responding to our  emails. Responsiveness is vital for survival in any business. It is imperative that we all become mindful of the little actions that produce negative effects on our lives. We must overcome the bad with the good. Our good habits are the zip ties that anchor and ground us through the storms of life. Be aware of the little things in life and in business , because they really do matter!