Giant Success Starts With Small Steps Like These

Typically their fantastic examples of success only come after diligent effort focusing on the smaller details, gaining confidence by doing that year after year after year, and only then getting to the point where they can perform flawlessly. When we see videos highlighting others’ success, we can get impatient and rush to want to experience similar success, so we end up overlooking the importance and necessity of learning the small steps.

When I was a boy, my parents owned a clothing factory. People simply thought that I was going to eventually step into my dad’s shoes and inherit the business. They were surprised when the first job my dad gave me was sweeping the cutting room floor. I had a couple of people say to me, “You’re the owner’s son! What are you doing sweeping the floor? You should be out with our sales team, learning how to talk with retailers, learning about how to sell garments.” But first I needed to learn the behind-the-scene details that went into solid production, into running a factory, into properly taking care of employees. I needed to learn the details about all that was necessary to eventually produce a great garment and run a successful business.

Ten years later, I was hired as manager of Speedo New Zealand by Speedo Australia. What got me that position was not the fact that I was an Olympic medalist in swimming; it was the fact that I knew the clothing trade inside out. I’d learned that through little jobs that my dad had given me, where I got comfortable understanding what flatlocking did to a garment, understanding how you need to connect two pieces of material so they don’t rub and irritate. I’ve never worn a woman’s swimsuit, so there’s no way I can sell that from experience, but I know how material goes together, and I know the importance of a little detail like having flatlock seams so they don’t rub and irritate. It’s little details like that you need to be consistent with.

As an advisor, you, too, have little details you need to take care of.

• Is it making sure when you tell a client the meeting is going to start at 2:00, you begin that meeting at 2:00, or at least are there at 2:00 ready to go? Or if you unexpectedly get delayed, you’ve called them at 1:45, letting them know you’re in a meeting that’s going to go a little longer and giving them a heads up you’ll be 10 minutes late to your planned meeting with them?
• Is it sending them a thank you note after that meeting or a concise, three-bullet-pointed list of what they need to do next, that you’ve told them you’ll send by the end of today, and having that to them on time?
• Is it talking with your staff respectfully? You don’t want your staff seeing you speak to clients respectfully, yet then experience you talking to them in a demeaning way.

Consistency in the small things is super valuable; it pays off handsomely. So, to do this most effectively,

1. Recognize small details count. Today we see so many highlights and big successes, we lose sight of the fact that it’s the small details that really count in moving us toward the success we want.


2. Be consistent. Take pride in executing these small details well. Probably no one else is going to see many of them. You, however, can know no matter the size of the task or the visibility of the action, you did it to the best of your ability.


3. Don’t rush to have your name in lights. Take time to learn your craft. Don’t worry about being seen by thousands and thousands of followers out there.

Simply do your job as diligently as possible, earn the right to expect success, and the chances are you’re going to get it.