The miracle is in the detail

My world has been rocked – truly rocked. How is it that someone can so thoroughly disguise their lack of ability? No it's not even that. How can an apparently talented person make so many mistakes?

I must admit, I've been rocked over the last few days. The realisation hit home – never assume that someone gets something basic. No matter how 'apparently' intelligent the person is! Especially if the person appears intelligent!

I've been working on a training manual and testing out the manual has made me realise that I missed an entire section, “Things Crusoe assumed you would be able to do because they are so utterly basic” with an equally important subsection titled, “Really basic things you have forgotten already.”

The only explanation I have is that it is a lack of care. My effort levels are high because my motivations are high, but the same cannot simply be expected of an employee. Big mistakes don't bug me as much as little mistakes – ones that could have been avoided if you cared enough to simply just do it right. Making a big mistake in the persuit of big outcomes is acceptable because you will learn from it. Big mistakes shouldn't deter big ideas. However, making small mistakes by not taking the time to do things correctly is, to me, near inexcusable.

The reason is simple: the miracle is in the detail. Millions of people will tell you that it's the small things that count, and they count in two big areas. Firstly, people appreciate quality in the detail and its these small things often put one product or service a step ahead of the competitors. Secondly, it also happens to be the small things that will push people away. Why? Because not attending to the small things shows a lack of care and a lack of passion, and why would anyone want to willingly give their hard earned money to someone who doesn't care.

So the question is, how do you identify someone who has talent and a passion for detail?