Why The Little Things Matter - The Forgotten Nails
I turned to Mr. Rude and said, “Alright, go ahead and say sorry. That was incredibly rude.”
This happened the other day while I was consulting at a high school. I asked a question and this kid generously and courageous offered up an answer. One of his teammates, not 3 rows in front of him, was talking the entire time. Rude.
I continued talking, “Although you might not think much of the interaction you just had with your teammate, the little things matter.”
Mr. Rude said, “I’m sorry.” As he looked at his teammate.
Napoleon Bonaparte - Who?
I asked, “Do you know who Napoleon was?”
The rude kid said, “I do not.”
So, I explained, “Napoleon was a French emperor and during the battle of Waterloo, one fatal mistake led to the fall of the French and the rise of the British.
And it all came down to one little thing – nails.
The French were dominating the battlefield and took over the British cannons, but as soon as they got there the looked at each other.
“Do you have the nails?” said one of the army men.
Another replied, “No… I thought you had them!”
These little nails were essential. They hammered them into the cannons rendering them useless. At least that’s what they would’ve done.
Sure enough, the Brits retook the cannons and wound up defeating the French.
If the French only remembered the nails, they probably would’ve won the war.
This same thing goes for you. It’s the little things that matter.
You might not have thought much of being rude towards your teammate, but that one little thing could mean the difference between you building trust or destroying it.
Our goal is to build a bridge of trust with our teammates so strong that it can bare the weight of truth. That way, when “it” hits the fan (which it always does), we can trust our teammate to get the job done, or at least know that he’s going to give it his best effort. If you don’t show him respect by listening, then you’ve lit a match that can burn the whole bridge down. You see…
Fire, water, and trust were walking through the forest one day.
Fire said, “If you lose me, just look for the smoke, that’s where I’ll be.”
Water said, “If you lose me, just look for the green plants, that’s where I’ll be.”
Trust said, “You better not lose me! If you lose me, you’ll never get me back.”
Trust is tough to build on a team, and if we aren’t careful, we can blow it with just one little thing.
Doing the little things matters
Shaking a hand.
Saying “Thank You”
Showing up on time.
Looking presentable.
Remembering a birthday.
Drilling your technique.
Pushing The Rock on a daily basis.
It’s The Little Things.
If you want to be great, if you want a certain outcome to manifest in your favor, then you need to pay attention to the little things.”
After that, Mr. Rude got up, went and gave his teammate a hug, said sorry again, and went back to sit down as we continued with our lesson on dominating life with unshakable confidence.
He’s no longer Mr. Rude. He’s the man. This same kid can break a pencil in half with ENERGY! but that’s a story for another time…
What little things have you been neglecting lately? What can you tighten up? Are there any areas of your life that if you paid attention to the little things, just a little bit more, would incrementally and monumentally improve your life over time?
The little things matter.
