The Small Stuff Matters

Artist Susan Luery was commissioned to produce a bronze statue of the famous, Babe Ruth that was to be placed at the entrance to Oriole Park baseball field. During the many months of modeling and molding it took to create the 9 foot tall, 800 pound statue of Babe Ruth, Susan Luery met with countless experts who knew & played with the famous ball player. Details were researched and debated. Many questions were asked and investigated. Did the Babe wear his belt buckle on the left or right? Was his hat cocked to the side or did he wear it straight? In her research no fact or detail was too small to escape scrutiny, consideration and investigation... that is, except one.

In the mid 1990’s the Baltimore Sun newspaper reported how the bronze statue of “The Babe”, was unveiled at the northern Eutaw Street entrance of Oriole Park. It depicts in a very beautiful way Babe Ruth leaning on a bat with his left hand and on his right hand is a ball glove that’s clutching his hip. However that’s the problem. Babe Ruth was left handed. In an interview the artist, Susan Luery admits to “not being very astute in the fine points of sports.” She reported that in designing the statue she worked with a vintage glove sent to her by the Babe Ruth Museum and that she believed the glove was Ruth’s. Obviously it wasn’t. As Luery puts it: “It was the right glove on the wrong man or the wrong glove on the right man.” What it really was, was a huge communication error regarding a crucial detail that was costly, and in reality was what made the difference between her work of art being considered a success or failure.

Details. What are they? They’re the trim or the border or stenciling around a room. They’re the bow on the gift. They’re the finishing touch. They’re the finer points. They are doing that last 2 percent. Detail is looking at an issue from every angle and then looking at it again to ensure that everything has been considered. They’re doing that extra little bit....going the extra mile. Details are the difference between excellence and average. They’re the difference between quality and mediocrity. And most often, attention to the details mean the difference between success and failure.

Too few people see the importance of developing the ability of getting the details right. Sometimes the reason for this is simply a matter of apathy, mediocrity and a lack of discipline. Other times it’s a fear of being a micro manager or a control freak. However taking care of details and the finer points should not be for any of these negative reasons nor should focusing on details produce these types of outcome. Consideration to details should always be in order that there would be quality, success and in order that things would go smoothly. As Dale Carnegie once said, “Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small things. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little things well, the big things tend to take care of themselves.”