Little Things Mean a Lot These Days

Like many football fans last weekend, I watched the gripping championship games this Sunday.

What really hit me about these games was the enormity that they have taken on in recent times.  These are no ordinary football games.  They are duels between two teams fighting to make it to the Super Bowl on February 2….Ground Hog Day.

But even more than the games themselves, I began to watch the attention to detail that each team displayed.

And, the more I watched, the more it became clear that “it’s the little things that count.”  Yes, we all know that is important but all the little things add up to big things and the winner of this game was the team that paid the most attention to the little things.

As a Project Manager, do you pay attention to the little things?  It is truly the stuff that matters….the little things every day that add up to the end results.  Did you talk to that team member who seemed a little reluctant to call the vendor about a problem with the software you were using?  Did you remember to tell your stakeholders that a delay was around the corner because another project would not deliver its information on time?  Did you remember to authorize your team to enlist the help of an experienced resource who had lived through this situation before and delivered?

Think about the myriad of little things you see on your project every day.  You may never play in a Super Bowl, but your reputation as a top notch Project Manager will be assured if you pay attention to the little things.