26. Why I Notice Details

I found the photo above from clicking a link on SmittenKitchen.com (breakfast slab pie -- YUM!) that landed me on Medium.com. The blog post, "Dear Guy Who Just Made My Burrito," opened up a world of thought for me about my feelings about getting the details right.

I've heard people brag about being more forest than tree people, but then I think, "What are you talking about? If you don't notice the trees, you're totally lost. You won't know what forest you're in, and you certainly can't build a shelter, start a fire, or find your way to safety!" Can you tell I'm a tree person? I believe we need to notice the details to have any idea about the whole.

I'm thinking about a time (almost twenty years ago) when I scheduled a meeting with one of my bosses to share some suggestions I had for improving our school. After listening to my list, she said, "Carita, it sounds as if you're not very happy here." Wow, did she ever get that wrong. If I weren't happy here, I'd leave. Because I love this place, I want to help make it the best place that it can be. (Later, I decided that she was projecting; she left the school the following year. I'm still here twenty years later.)

I don't think it makes me a negative person to notice and think about how to fix what's not working. I think this habit makes me helpful. How on earth can anybody or any organization improve without people who notice what works and keep it, and notice what doesn't work and think about how to change it.

When's a time you noticed something others considered a detail? How did you work to improve? Feel free to leave a comment.