Success at a sport like hockey is at least somewhat tied to how one’s skates are tied. For those that are younger, there is likely a direct relationship to the amount of attention to detail allocated to tying up one’s skates to prowess shown on the ice. As one advances within the sport to higher levels of performance, each remaining high performer is conscientious about how they do their skates. Each high performer has found their way of doing laces that works for them. Though the methods may differ, the attention to detail remains. Demonstration of skill follows diligence in attending to basic details.
Coach John Wooden was a legendary NCAA college basketball coach. He is considered one of the greatest college coaches of all time. He coached teams which became national champions ten times in a 12-year period. He coached teams over several seasons that connected a consecutive win streak of 88 games. As a career coach he spent 29 seasons making a difference in many young men’s lives that continued forward to success in both sport and life. Once, in retirement, Wooden was asked what it was he missed most about coaching. Was it the big games? Was it the noise of the crowd? Was it making inspirational speeches to his athletes before a big game? True to his character, Wooden offered that what he missed most was the practices. He was renown for communicating a love for practicing. Yes, the basics were drilled with dedication. Each practice moved with orchestral precision from exercise to exercise. Each minute was well used. However, it wasn’t just physical skills relevant to the sport that were a focus.
With each new season, Wooden would spend part of the early practices reinforcing the importance of details as small as how to tie one’s shoes. He even went so far to guide his players as to what kind of socks to wear and how to put socks on. To Wooden, being able to stay in practices and games was a distinguishing characteristic of giving oneself a chance to succeed. Properly putting socks on in a way that would reduce blisters was time well spent. Similarly, with shoelaces serving to keep the athlete’s connection to the court intact, how one laced their basketball shoes mattered. Delighting in details like these were a differentiator for Wooden’s teams. As his athletes began to take details like socks and shoelaces seriously, their attention and effort in other areas expanded as well.
Back in 2010, I became interested in running. I ran a few half marathons and a marathon. There were times when I would head out for my daily training run and somewhere along the way a lace would come undone. This was both frustrating mentally as a distraction and became a nuisance physically. Stopping to kneel and tie up a shoe was uncomfortable after having run for a while. Moreover, when I got back running and looked at my watch, I would see that my pace had obviously dropped. This played with my mind and disrupted my mood. After a few times, I became better at preventing this issue at the outset of a training run by ensuring each shoe was more carefully laced with a double bow. I began to internalize that the details matter.
A Harry Rosen TV commercial from some years ago captures this idea. It runs with the hashtag #SetTheTone and suggests those distinguished and intelligent enough to purchase from Harry Rosen are doing so because they and their clothes set the tone with “every last detail, every last stitch”.
American author, Martha Beck, is credited with the quote, “The way we do anything is the way we do everything.” Her message echoes that preached by coaches like John Wooden in that each action we offer no matter on how trivial an area reflects the care and attention we will bring to bigger things. We can’t get away with saying this thing is trivial so who cares. If we start down this slope, we slide into mediocrity in many other areas limiting our contribution and growth. Long time NBA Coach, Kevin Eastman in his book Why the Best are the Best quotes NBA Hall of Fame player Ray Allen, “There’s no big secret to success in the NBA. The secret is there is no secret. It’s just boring old habits.”
The All Blacks are the national rugby team of New Zealand. They are that country’s sporting icon. Their record is unmatched in current years and boasts a winning percentage more than 75% in international rugby events. They are a symbol of pride for their nation. In a great book, Legacy, James Kerr details some of the organization’s philosophy. A founding principle for the team which is enforced not by coaches but by players is “Sweep the Sheds.” Building the boring old habit of cleaning into the team culture is part of their legacy of excellence. Sweeping the Sheds involves the responsibility of cleaning the practice facilities for the All Blacks. The players, from the lowest to the highest do their part to clean up regularly. The principle Kerr explains is to “never be too big to do the small things that need to be done.” The idea also reinforces responsibility. Kerr writes, “Sweeping the sheds. Doing it properly. So no one else has to. Because no one looks after the All Blacks. The All Blacks look after themselves.” Sweeping the sheds is about not expecting someone else to do your job for you. It’s the opposite of entitlement. Don’t expect things to be taken care of for you. Develop the discipline to attend to the small things. If you can do it here, sweeping the shed, you’ll be better on the field. Sweeping the sheds reinforces both the idea that the little things matter as well as develops a sense of humility.
David Perell in a recent Monday Morning Musings email offered that a McDonald’s franchise owner was once asked what separates the best restaurants from the worst ones. “The bathrooms,” he said. The franchise owner was reflecting the idea that when the boring stuff is well looked after, so, too, will be the serious stuff. Once again, the way we do the little things is the way we’ll do everything. Whether it’s laces or cleaning, these types of practices promote humility and pride. No job is too small and no detail too little to ignore. Our actions and efforts matter always. As Kevin Kelly offered in Excellent Advice for Living, “Pay attention to the little things. More people are defeated by blisters than by mountains.”
