Detail-oriented is a great term to describe a professional, in fact I see many a recommendation on Linked In laced with this adjective, many a resume boasting of this quality and many a people who value this virtue...
But I got thinking - what is being detail-oriented - is it that you have all your 'i's dotted and 't's crossed, you have all your risks predicted, you have all your preps ready and you have accounted and taken care of every single detail to the smallest T, what then? So whats the opposite of being detail oriented - someone who takes things as it comes, someone who's "on the spur" guy, never predicts, never does his homework, never is prepared..... Having said that - I realized that not all your jobs require you to be a detail oriented person... Yes, there are some roles, some jobs where details to the end is everything - for some where the purpose is certainly the BIGGER aspect.
It is insulting and disrespectful to work with someone who feels there's no need to come prepared for a meeting, who doesnt believe in setting the context, whose paperwork is full of mistakes and whose attitude is 'care a damn'. Yes, you need some level of orientation in whatever you do, but does it have to be detailed enough where you lose sight of the end picture, are too stiff to deviate and change course, are too stuck to be creative and innovate and too rigid to unlearn??
I got thinking that detail orientation is certainly not the best of virtues if you are at the top - where you need to be continuously evolving, adapting and unlearning...Most creative, fun guys I know are careless and happy go lucky - you could even get disgusted with their lackadaisical approaches...but that's only till they flash their sparks of geniuses, when all along you've been thnking they havent even been listening. But these guys are tough to work with, they dont fall in line, ask too many apolitical, uncomfortable questions and get killed by routine - not a typical detail oriented guy. They wouldnt care who's sitting in a meeting, maybe not even wat's on the agenda, but then you can hook this guy and even get him to participate if you can make even one sensible, non-cliched and honest statement.You see, the details the BIG PICTURE guy orients to is different and invisible.
Its been my good fortune to work with some guys who have been detail oriented but never lost sight of the BIG PICTURE, never got caught in quagmires of details.
So what am I? I'd like to work on the details as much as I can.., but being oriented is more important to me!
But I got thinking - what is being detail-oriented - is it that you have all your 'i's dotted and 't's crossed, you have all your risks predicted, you have all your preps ready and you have accounted and taken care of every single detail to the smallest T, what then? So whats the opposite of being detail oriented - someone who takes things as it comes, someone who's "on the spur" guy, never predicts, never does his homework, never is prepared..... Having said that - I realized that not all your jobs require you to be a detail oriented person... Yes, there are some roles, some jobs where details to the end is everything - for some where the purpose is certainly the BIGGER aspect.
It is insulting and disrespectful to work with someone who feels there's no need to come prepared for a meeting, who doesnt believe in setting the context, whose paperwork is full of mistakes and whose attitude is 'care a damn'. Yes, you need some level of orientation in whatever you do, but does it have to be detailed enough where you lose sight of the end picture, are too stiff to deviate and change course, are too stuck to be creative and innovate and too rigid to unlearn??
I got thinking that detail orientation is certainly not the best of virtues if you are at the top - where you need to be continuously evolving, adapting and unlearning...Most creative, fun guys I know are careless and happy go lucky - you could even get disgusted with their lackadaisical approaches...but that's only till they flash their sparks of geniuses, when all along you've been thnking they havent even been listening. But these guys are tough to work with, they dont fall in line, ask too many apolitical, uncomfortable questions and get killed by routine - not a typical detail oriented guy. They wouldnt care who's sitting in a meeting, maybe not even wat's on the agenda, but then you can hook this guy and even get him to participate if you can make even one sensible, non-cliched and honest statement.You see, the details the BIG PICTURE guy orients to is different and invisible.
Its been my good fortune to work with some guys who have been detail oriented but never lost sight of the BIG PICTURE, never got caught in quagmires of details.
So what am I? I'd like to work on the details as much as I can.., but being oriented is more important to me!
2 comments:
Hmm.. Atlast there is a diplomatic agreement.. !! Thapicha !!
were the typos part of the story..LOL
Enjoyed!!
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