Comments

Val...I must admit to having a certain amount of envy seeing that you made it to London and I didn't. I had planned to make the trip also but was trying to schedule it between two clients and perhaps doing a little sight seeing. I have yet to visit London.

Thank for the rememberance on the importance of "little" things. I do believe that we often overlook these things and build upon the grandiose. There is a scripture which states that it is "the little foxes that destroy the vine."

Often times we look for major things to solve problems, but it is often the little things that bring light and defeat immobilization. It is also the little things upon which success is built. I am a righteous believer in taking care of the little things.

Posted by Judith Ellis at April 29, 2008 2:34 PM

Val

I get your point on first reading it sempt obtuse.

However, there are "no pill or scapel cure" ( I read this in a poem about lost love ) when it comes to excellence and a love of excellence its always the small stuff that matters, the smallest elements of the jigsaw that meet the needs and the shape of the bigger picture (How does life state B look, feel, smell, understood, shared like) As long as it fits with the overall direction and its in your control (sometimes even if it isn't) make and own all your small and excellent changes to the overall vision and Lifestate B and the overall aim of being part of that bigger something!!!

Judith

When you visit London (I am confident you will), have Tea at Fortnum and Mason's on Picadilly, not a Starbucks or McDonalds anywhere!!!

As always ever onwards.

Patrick

Posted by Patrick at April 29, 2008 3:20 PM

Patrick...I will most certainly take your advice when I visit London to stop in your suggested places. I've been to the others. And you've guessed right; I most certainly will visit London.

I have lived and traveled abroad and I'm looking forward to seeing London, the great birthplace of a few of my personal favorites; among these are Virginia Woolf and Iris Murdock.

Onward...still...best...

Posted by Judith Ellis at April 29, 2008 3:40 PM

Val,
Thanks for the eye-witness account! It's a great treat to all of us who couldn't make it. Maybe we should always send a planted TPC-er whenever Tom speaks. Let us hear some more about how the day went.

Posted by cathy mosca at April 29, 2008 3:44 PM

Cathy, Might you settle for a plain ole TP-er? If so, I'd be down with it! When is the next one? :-)

Val, Some info about the session would be great perhaps an outstanding Q&A or the response of the audience or just stuff in general. How was the Cool Friend? Thanks!

Posted by Judith Ellis at April 29, 2008 4:09 PM

Val.... This like every piece of good advice is only a guide to ACTION for those who have the innate wisdom to change their ways and thus to act upon it...

Hilton's advice was pure because it was specific and in context... This is a metaphor and people, in general, struggle to turn metaphors into ACTIONS. So my 'curtain to tuck in today' - as you put it - is to put this lesson into a context that readers of tompeters! comments might understand. How to do that is my first challenge?

The best way I trust is to tell a true story about a client who had a problem with his staff because they had become obsessed with 'tucking in the curtain'... My client was the Australian Ambassador to France. I was in his Embassy leading change workshops for 2 weeks - yeah 2 weeks in Paris living in the Embassy which is right next to the Eiffel Tower. Life doesn't get much better than that for me as I love being in Paris - the Monet Room, Museum Rodin, etc......

The Ambassador was a noted 'high flyer' - he was destined for even bigger things. He was a noted perfectionist but he was having trouble with his staff. He was not getting 'excellence' from them. This puzzled me because everyone loved this man and respected him and his work ethic. He was a known perfectionist. He asked me if I could help him while I was around. Sure I can but what is the problem? I listened to his staff and after a day or so I got it!

The problem was too much attention to detail - the staff were 'tucking in every curtain' and while this sounds good it has a devastating impact on what gets done and how it gets done. It screws up workflows and screws up mindsets.

My solution was simple to tell him about but hard for him to get right - as any practical CEO will attest to and immediately understand. Ambassador I said, "you have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them" (lines from a Kenny Rogers song - I think???)..

I told him that he has to tell his staff the level of detail he needs on each assignment he gives them for the next month. From policy settings to place settings for Ministerial dinners - often getting it right to a finite level of detail with the latter is more important than it is for the former. Policy settings for long-term bi-lateral arrangements between Australia and France do often not have to have the same attention to detail as place settings at an Embassy Dinner to be held tonight.. You have to know when to 'tuck in the shower curtain and what shower curtains to tuck in!' Otherwise this is gratuitous advice and it can be totally counter-productive...

The Ambassador was pleased with my explanation but not as pleased as his immediate staff... Yes it is the simple little things that count BUT knowing which ones is the what makes some people better than others in the workplace.

Richard.

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at April 29, 2008 4:47 PM

Great story Richard- thanks for sharing that.

In my experience the surest way to strangle all innovation, all risk taking and all ‘life’ in organisations is to spend ALL the time ‘tucking in the shower curtain.’ Frankly I see no point in tucking in the shower curtain if you are not using the shower. Many organisations seem to spend all their time tucking in the shower curtain when the shower is dry.

PS – Judith – if you REALLY want to see life in England visit OLD TRAFFORD, Manchester – home of my beloved Manchester United who tonight qualified for the European Champions League Final in Moscow on 21st May –YES ,YES YES

I assure you life gets little better than this!!!

Maybe I am easily pleased :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at April 29, 2008 5:35 PM

Will do, Trevor. I'm looking forward to it. I've noticed you'll use any means necessary to get in your beloved Manchester United. I'm not a big socceer fan, but all of my nieces and nephews have played the sport up until high school and I've seen many games on that level being the doting aunt.

I did manage just the other day to half-heartedly seeing a special on Beckham and wife on one of those tabloid "news" shows. He played for Manchester, right? Don't know what he's doing in LA. It was noted that his multi-million dollar contract was sheer miraculous to play a sport that Americans do not hold much interest in. This probably has more to do with his celebrity than his talent. Time will tell. He's among the best, eh?

What was the topic of this post?

Posted by Judith Ellis at April 29, 2008 7:35 PM

My lesson: I died.
Than I saw that nobody dies, it's just a game.

Little detail you can't miss in your life.:-(*))

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/Gothman_66/DeathAngel_edited.jpg

Posted by Ina Matijevic at April 30, 2008 2:16 AM

I don't know the context of the original quote but I have a different take on it from attention to detail. I think it means that you should understand and execute the basics, but be aware that they're not always obvious.

Richard makes a great point about action and there's another Conrad Hilton quote that says it perfectly: "Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."

Posted by Mark JF at April 30, 2008 2:24 AM

Thanks Mark JF for that.

Posted by Judith Ellis at April 30, 2008 3:07 AM

Judith

I must say you are a brave person kicking off a question on the merits of David Beckham :-)

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This maybe a bit of a strong question (but hey that's never stopped me before!)

Do succesful people keep moving or do successful people keep moving on?

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PaulH...if I am not brave I am not much! Bravery is for people of action, hopefully tempered by wisdom and understanding. Any way, I guess I'm pretty safe here. This is, after all, cyberspace. No bananas here! :-)

Posted by Judith Ellis at April 30, 2008 9:24 AM

I think there is another side of the story. What I notice at work, is that when you decide to do one thing, this "small" thing will lead to ten other things related to the same project / department / client etc...
I think Mr. Hilton knew this, and knew that when you tuck the curtain, this will inevitably lead you to do many other things in that direction. You'll notice that the shower is dry (as mentioned by Trevor) and that you need to get a new bar of soap etc... Snowball effect.
As the Greek saying goes, beginning is half the endeavor, or something to that effect.
My daily curtain would have to be to use the sites that I manage, to go through them as a user and evaluate the flow.
Thanks!

Posted by Elias Dabbas at April 30, 2008 9:33 AM

PaulH - nice question! I think the answer is, "Yes."

Posted by Mark JF at April 30, 2008 3:20 PM

I second that, MarkJF. The question made me smile and go Hmmm? I'd agree. The answer is simply "yes" to both of the above scenarios. Deciding which will include wisdom.

Posted by Judith Ellis at April 30, 2008 3:33 PM

The Tom Day in London was excellent. Both Tom and Kjell had good points that day. Kjell reminded us that leaders need to increase people's self esteem if they want people to perform at their best. This tied nicely into Tom's quote that Brand Inside (the people)is more important than Brand Outside.

Bottom line, get the "talent thing" right. Pay attention to the little things that people do right in addition to doing little things right.

Valarie

Posted by Valarie Willis at April 30, 2008 6:08 PM

What shower curtain do I need to tuck in?

What I need to do is stop fussing with the shower curtain and go do something.

All too often, I find myself fidgeting with details instead of making progress. I'm very detail oriented, but some details don't add to the final product; they don't add value to the customer, they're there to fulfill my fussiness (which is not a good business model.)

Trevor: re: Manchester United--I didn't know you were a basketball fan . . .

Posted by Joel D Canfield at May 1, 2008 9:27 AM