Adjusting the Lens for Detail

Photo by  KOBU Agency on Unsplash

In one of my earliest jobs, I was the music teacher at a high school. THE music teacher. In fact, I taught all the bands, choirs, and even the dance department (ask me if I have ever taken dance in my LIFE; the answer is no).

My attention to sound is very detailed. My attention to numbers is not.

So imagine my overwhelm of grading a 200+ member class of singers of widely varying ability, or scheduling to the minute facilities usage.

I got terribly frustrated.

In researching for today's topic about paying attention to the details in life and in business, I got stuck in this paradox:

Why is it that I care deeply about details in music, physical form, and independent study.... and I glaze over when it comes to numbers?

Then, I went back to my roots of education, remembering that I taught students according to their learning style, not my teaching style.

There are seven basic learning styles, as shown here in this briefing by Mindvalley.

• Visual / Spacial: can see detail in design, shapes, and space

• Aural: can hear detail in music and are very affected by sound

• Verbal: have detailed vocabulary and thrive in written and spoken word

• Physical / Kinesthetic: feel detail in how the body moves and learn through doing

• Logical / Mathematic: see detail in numbers and calculations

• Social / Interpersonal: need to be around others in order to learn

• Solitary / Intrapersonal: learn better alone

I have had every kind of student and then some, which is why I taught the same concept usually at least seven different ways, even though my way would have been aural, verbal, and kinesthetic.

The value I find in learning to focus more on the details in business is to really stretch my own skills as a person. I have a tendency to be strict about details in movement, but I will forget to double check numbers. It's an oversight that is so glaring, it often takes someone to say "ummmmm.... did you check the basic math here?" I am working on being more detail oriented in visual and logical problems, because others in business and life are depending on me to.

It's a major blind spot for me.

Do you have an eye or ear for detail in some of the above seven, but not others? How do you think that affects people you work with or your business at large? Working on these skills isn't necessarily obvious to us, especially at first, so it takes a lot of willingness to accept advice, and a lot of self grace, to adjust that lens for detail.

Fundamental #25: PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS. Be rigorous about accuracy and precision. Double-check your work.