The most important thing to be done is rarely the flashiest thing you could do. Often, our projects are won or lost with the important basics. Basic doesn’t mean easy or trivial; basic describes a building block, the essence of a thing stripped of all ornamentation.
The most important thing usually comes down to making your next step a solid one. To use a baseball analogy, it’s more important to put the ball in play, than to swing for the fence. Getting a solid hit, advancing runners, forcing the other team to make a choice or even an error; the basics define the whole. Motion creates opportunities. While hitting it out the park is a nice thought, it’s less likely and less reliable than the important basic rule of putting the ball in to play. Steadily taking the next step is more important than trying to win the day with a single, herculean effort.
This week I came across a story, probably apocryphal, of a student witnessing a Harvard professor washing glassware at the sink while their assistant performs a complex task at the work table. The student asks why the professor is washing glass. The professor responds that he always handles the most important aspect of every procedure, and in this particular procedure, the cleanliness of the glass was the most important aspect. The most important thing is rarely flashy.
Clean your glassware. Handle the basics.
What is the most important thing you can do right now to make your day a success?
Image: Baseball Magazine Cover, Aug. 1917. Benton Henderson Clark. American, 1895-1964.
