day 578: Attention To The Details

I marvel with the people who could be so successful in their careers if they just could find a way to have an attention to details. Big idea people are needed but ideas without execution go nowhere. It takes attention to details to make something go from good to great. The business world has been abuzz the last week over the potential of the Apple coporatation not having Steve Jobs at the helm. I have had the privilege to interact with Steve a number of times in one on one conversations and I have said consistently that he is the Walt Disney of our age (ironically, he is also the largest shareholder of the Walk Disney Company). Why is he like Walt Disney? It is because he has the vision to see into the future but also has the attention to detail to make those visions come to life and in a manner that is of the highest quality and consistency for the consumer/user. Without his attention to the details, would the iPod or the iPad be what it is today? I seriously doubt it. All any us have to do is read the book of Numbers and we can see that part of how God created and rules this world is also with an attention to detail. I was struck by the book of Numbers Chapter 26 when God asks that a census be held. After all of the counting of the men over 20 years of age, God did not lose sight of the detail that He had said, "They will all die in the wilderness'. The only exceptions were Caleb, son of Jephunneh and Joshuah son of Nun." When you do the math that was two of 624,730 people. God was in the details. As we go about our work, much of how we do our work and do something with excellence or not is in the details. The small things do count. As you think through today, what details are hanging that need to be sewn up? What details need attention that you haven't been giving? What orientation in your work do you need to change so you can find yourself attentive to the details? It will make a difference.

Reference: Numbers 26:65 (New Living Testament)

day 539: Who Is Thinking About You?

It's not an unusual statement or thought to hear that someone is wondering if there really is anyone at work who thinks about them. Well of course there is someone who thinks about them, but what they are wondering does anyone "really think" about their well-being, their career development, their dreams, their passions and the impact that the job is having on them at home or in their relationships? This questioning thought usually comes at the time when the person wondering is trying to figure out how they are doing, how they are perceived, or how their career is progressing or not. And no matter where they turn there isn't someone else who is there to talk to them and provide a perspective that is personal. Anyone who has felt this way is not alone. We all have been there and how we come out of our time of questioning can either end up in us moving through to where we are much less concerned about who is watching out for us, or we never quite come through and we end up changing jobs or companies to go somewhere where we feel like we are listened to, appreciated, loved, and watched over. This is real and something that everyone goes through at some point in their career. Here is what we all need to remember. Regardless of what we think, we can know that there is one who is always thinking of us. David writes of God for us; "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" When we question who is watching out for us, then we don't need to sweat it as God is doing all the thinking we will ever need and He is not going to let us be forgotten, overlooked or misplaced. So, when no one at the office is paying attention to us let's not let it get us down because we can know who is thinking about us!

Reference: Psalm 139:17-18 (New Living Testament)