Mastering the Mundane

A few months after losing a heartbreaking game to the Eagles in the NFL Championship Game (pre-Super Bowl days) to end their 1960 season, the Green Bay Packers convened for their 1961 training camp with a group of hungry veterans. They were out for redemption and eager to get a fresh start on a new season. Their legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, greeted his team by holding up a pigskin and declaring, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” With that, he set the precedent for the rest of training camp: they would be going back to refine and perfect the basics. No new fancy plays; they would review blocking and tackling and start on page one of the playbook. Six months later the Packers won the NFL Championship with a 37-0 blowout of the Giants. The Lombardi Era had begun.

John Wooden’s reputation as a basketball coach was mythical. They called him “The Wizard of Westwood.” He won ten NCAA championships in twelve years, including seven consecutive titles. His team once won 88 straight games, spanning four seasons. He coached countless future NBA players and several eventual Hall of Fame stars, but every year, with a fresh crop of top collegiate athletes, he would begin the season by having the players get barefoot. “I want you to remove your shoes and socks”, he would say, “We’re going to learn how to put them on properly.” Coach Wooden would then personally demonstrate how they were to put on their socks. “It all begins with the socks. Success begins from the ground up.” No detail was ignored or left to chance.

Navy recruits must go through a rigorous selection process called Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs Training (BUDs) before they can become SEALs and be awarded their Trident. It’s been described as a lifetime of mental and physical trials packed into six months. It’s where warriors meet their breaking point. However, every day starts with the sailors being tasked to make their beds absolutely perfectly. No wrinkles, no creases, no extra blanket hanging off, it must be flawless. They learn to start each morning with a perfectly executed task. It will set the tone for everything else they will have to overcome the rest of the day.

Excellence is in the details. It’s easy to look past small, mundane, basic elements of a project or process, but that is oftentimes where the battle is won. We get distracted by the big, bright and shiny but forget it’s all about the fundamentals. We all want to hit home runs but no one wants to spend the time working on holding the bat perfectly. If we can master the small things, the big things fall into place as well.

“Details Create Success” – John Wooden

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