Details

I hate it when details get in the way of results. Last week we heard about golfer Jim Furyk who was disqualified when he overslept and was five minutes late to the Pro-Am tournament preceding the Barclays tournament. By missing the Pro-Am, he is also disqualified from the four day event. This may cost Furyk some real money (read millions) as it qualifies for the FedEx Cup. The winner gets a $10 million bonus. Furyk was third before missing the tee time. It's hard to imagine how this can happen. My wife sets three alarms to ensure she makes an early flight.

Sticking with golf, how about Dustin Johnson a couple of weeks ago? You may remember him as the golfer who was penalized two strokes on the final hole of the PGA tournament. He was heading for a three man playoff when it was discovered he ground his club in a sand trap. Admittedly, it was hard to tell it was part of the trap but a notice explaining this very situation was posted in the locker room before the final round. No playoff, no chance for a major.

Going outside of sports, it was revealed that the State of New Jersey missed out on $400 million of education funding by the Federal government this week. It turns out that the person filling out one page gave the incorrect information. Governor Christie was spitting tacks, but everyone else filled it out correctly.

Attention to detail is not every one's strong suit. Sometimes, it's situational. In many circumstances, I can be very detailed and ensure the job is complete. In other situations, not so much. I find that when I know someone is checking my work, I tend not to do as complete a job. Sounds a bit backwards but there may be a lesson. When we are ultimately accountable for projects, revenue, proposals-we tend to make sure its right or we stand up and take the blame like Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson. When there is an army of checkers, my theory is that folks slack a bit knowing someone else may catch anything important. Not a very efficient way to run an organization.

Mistakes will happen. Organizations that solve for mistakes by adding additional checks and balances run the risk of bloating the staff and lessening accountability. Creating responsibility, even at the lowest levels of the organization creates efficiency and high expectations. It also promotes creativity, empowerment and opportunity. Be careful in your response to mistakes by creating checkers. Instead, create an organization that is attentive to the details and takes responsibility for their work.

Looking for Buoys

For the past few weeks, a good friend of mine from high school was on my mind. His name is Randy Adams. He was best man in our wedding and lives with his wife Sally and three boys in North Carolina. We grew up together from elementary school to college at Miami University. We were both in the same fraternity, Sigma Nu and even ran for House Commander (President) against each other. We don't talk often, but like most good friends, don't have trouble getting into an easy flow in a few minutes.

I took the opportunity to call Randy yesterday and we caught up for about 20 minutes. During the call, he told me about the death of his nephew in February in an auto accident in Indiana. It's a terrible story, but one that I read about at the time but didn't put the pieces together. It turns out that Randy's nephew, Mark (Reedy) was traveling as a passenger with Brendan Burke, the son of the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager. Brendan was also the student manager of Miami University's hockey team. Sports Illustrated had a touching article on him and his dad soon after the accident. The name of the other young man killed was lost on me until yesterday.

As I read Mark's obituary and articles in the local press from his hometown, I was immediately brought back to my high school days. He went to the same middle school and high school that Randy and I did. He was the top diver in Oakland County and state runner-up. He has a wonderful family and was loved by them and many. Such a tragedy. Mark was 18 when he died.

How often does it happen that we don't get the whole story? We see the headline, something draws us to an article, but we really don't dig deep for the details. So often in business and in life, there are buoys to guide us if only we look. Why is it when we decide to buy a brown sports car, we notice how many brown sports cars are on the road? The more we're open to look deeper-the more our lives will be enriched and we'll achieve the results that we're looking for.

I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Mark Reedy, but I know his parents. He did a lot of living and achieving in his life. Perhaps that's his legacy for those he left behind. Make the most out of life and look for the buoys that God puts in our way.

A Change of Scenery

This weekend marks the trading deadline for baseball. There is a two-fold purpose for the deadline. First, it allows teams going nowhere to trade their high priced talent to teams in the pennant race. The hope is that they get quality prospects in return. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. Sometimes it works in the short term, but not so much in the long-term. Take a trade the Tigers made in 1987. They acquired a pitcher named Doyle Alexander to help them overtake the Toronto Blue Jays. Perfect! Except the guy they gave up to get him was John Smoltz, a certain Hall of Famer, to the Braves.

Many players changed teams this week. It is hoped that some will do better with a different team. They may have been buried with their current team. A change of scenery does some players good. Take Brad Lidge in 2008. After struggling with the Astros, he was traded to the Phillies and saved every game he appeared. Perhaps he needs another change given his recent performance. Players get in ruts, they don't get along with his manager, they are too far away from their family. Any number of reasons a change will work.

Are employees any different? In larger organizations, it may be better to move (or allow to move) employees to other departments, take a transfer, or even leave the company. In smaller, organizations, those opportunities may not avail themselves. In all cases, its important for the manager and employee to have a good discussion on fit, career goals and how their current position can help them meet their career goals. Too often, we're afraid to have that conversation. This allows bad feelings to fester and create an emotional departure to the detriment of everyone.

We should all be open to a change of scenery if it benefits all concerned. It often works in baseball-why not for your organization?