Little Things are Indicators of Bigger Things

UPFRONT DISCLAIMER: Kevin Knebl is not a psychologist.  The information in this post is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  This information is provided for your general information only.  Kevin Knebl does not give medical or psychological advice or engage in the practice of psychology or medicine.  Kevin Knebl under no circumstances recommends particular treatment for specific individuals and in all cases recommends that you consult your physician or local treatment center before pursuing any course of treatment.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk.  We all do certain things on a daily basis that enable us to make a living and enjoy our lives.  There are also many things that we do on a daily basis that may not be serving us very well.  Let’s talk about these unproductive things briefly in the hope of reducing them and thereby increasing our “like-ability” which always leads to our profitability. 

I don’t have any letters after my name and I don’t claim to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over time it’s that little things are usually indicators of bigger things.  Like when you were a kid and you asked your parents where babies came from.  Them dancing around an answer was an indication of a bigger thing.  Like when you ask your spouse if this outfit makes you look fat and they answer with hesitancy and a bit of an odd tone in their voice.  That’s an indicator of a bigger thing.  Maybe a lot bigger thing.

We are all busy people running Mach 5 with our receding hairlines on fire.  But that’s no excuse for not returning phone calls and email in a timely fashion.  “But Kev, you don’t know how busy I am.”  No, I don’t.  But I do know that when I feel like I’m being avoided or not given the respect of a reply, it’s not going to help you develop a Know, Like, Trust relationship with me.  And it’s just common courtesy to return calls and email.  And we also know that common courtesy isn’t common.  But for people who exercise common courtesy, great things happen.

When we fail to do the little things like returning a call, replying to an email, sending a card after a meeting, saying thank you for a referral, and many other things we are sending a message.  And unfortunately, the message is often that if we can’t handle the little things there’s no way we’ll be able to handle the bigger things.  And therefore the bigger things have a way of not showing up in our lives.  You can generally tell how someone does things by just watching what they do.  We are way, way more consistent in our actions than most of us realize.

I once heard someone say that the way you do anything is the way you do everything.  Don’t dismiss that too quickly.  It makes a lot of sense.  People are not usually meticulous in one area and a complete slob in other areas.  There are of course, exceptions to this, but look at yourself.  I’m betting there are patterns in your life.  I know sure as heck that there are in mine.  Some are good and some are not so good.

I learned a long time ago that when wealthy people meet someone they look at the details that a lot of other people don’t look at.  They look at the other person’s fingernails and shoes.  Really?  Really.  They’re looking for attention to detail.  Are they clean and polished?  Little things are indicators of bigger things.  The next time you’re with someone who you consider to be successful, ask them what they notice first when they meet a person.  I’m guessing that in some way it will relate to details.  Appearance.  Eye contact.  Tone of voice.  Listening skills.  Things that the average person never even considers. 

So, realize that huge doors of opportunity swing on little, tiny hinges.  Be faithful in the little things and the bigger things will come.  How do I know this so well?  Because I screw up the little things all the time.  Just not as badly as I used to.  Most fish have no idea they’re wet.  Perform a quick assessment of yourself from time to time.  Are you handling the little things professionally?  Get those little things done correctly and you’ll come to realize that they weren’t little things.  They were big things that just looked like little things.