Useful Contradiction: Don't Sweat the Devil in the Detail
Life is often rife with contradiction. This holds especially true in the common words of wisdom we hear.
It seems for every piece of wisdom someone preaches, someone else preaches the exact opposite.
But does this mean that these ideas are opposed? Irreconcilable?
Must we pick one or the other?
Take these two common pieces of advice:
- Don’t sweat the small stuff
- The Devil is in the detail
Are they really as opposed as they appear at first glance?
Let’s see.
I. Don’t sweat the small stuff
We often hear: Remember to zoom out. Keep an eye on the big picture. Focus on the vision. Don’t lose the forest for the trees.
In essence, don’t sweat the small stuff.
We hear echoes of this mantra in other recommendations like the Pareto principle, the 80/20 rule. Don’t worry about that 80%, it doesn’t provide much value. Those details don’t matter.
With this in mind, it’s easy to turn away from the details in favor of grander brush strokes.
II. The Devil is in the details
Sometimes the smallest detail missed is all it takes for a project to crumble.
Not only is there often a great risk in the detail, but it’s also where you can find great value.
Don’t avoid the details, don’t shrug either the responsibility or the potential value. Instead, practice deep work, dig in, find something that no one has found before, that no one had given the requisite focus to find.
III. The contradiction
Do I focus on the details or not?
IV. The synthesis
Like most advice, it’s likely the one that you feel opposed to that you should take.
Are you the type of person that focuses on the big picture? That ignores the potential value that can come from grinding in the details? “The Devil is in the detail” is for you.
So you get caught up in the small things? Go down rabbit holes? Are you a perfectionist who has trouble pressing “publish”? “Don’t sweat the small stuff” is for you.
Understand your personality, what methodology you are biased towards, and try to find value in a counter-intuitive (to you) view.
Looking just a little further, we can also see how these ideas may hint at a more fruitful recommendation:
Focus on the right details.
Set targets without sweating the small stuff. Execute work checking for the Devil in the detail.
Before you begin your work, ask yourself “What am I hoping to achieve?” Begin only when you’ve reached an answer. Then while you work on the details, always keep that outcome in mind. Never stray too far from the original intention.
2021-05-29