Re: Attention to detail

["Wood, Maureen" <Maureen -dot- Wood -at- CSB -dot- GOV>]

My two cents on attention to detail:

I am not sure "attention to detail" is a specific skill.  I do believe it
can be acquired (isn't this interesting; it's like the inherited vs.
evolutionary debate!) if the individual has various skill sets, but they
don't necessarily have to be the same skill sets to arrive at the same end
point.  I have three suggestions to try in combination.

1.  First of all, one of the most professional places I worked had an
excellent approval process.  Basically, at least 2 other key people had to
review each deliverable before it went out the door, and we had a culture in
which no one could get away with using the process to exercise control freak
tendencies (i.e. stalling or nit-picking to make themselves feel important
or smarter), we all had too much work to do anyway.  Some people thought it
was too bureaucratic, but honestly, I think those were people who liked to
dash things out and get them off their desks in a hurry, or didn't like
people looking over their shoulders.  I operate under the theory, however,
that no one--absolutely no one, except the most anal retentive
individuals--can be perfectly attentive to all details, especially on a
project that one has lived with for a while.

Inevitably, through this process, the deliverable was improved, and details
that had been overlooked were corrected.  Also, people in the routing
process had little patience with getting a draft full of errors and if you
sent something like that once, the reaction you received was enough to make
it a long time before you did it again. Many times it was not errors that
were caught, it was simply that a few more heads made a more creative and,
hence, satisfying result.  One person cannot think of every angle and the
best way to say everything--while too many cooks spoil the broth, a few
cooks can sometimes make a good recipe into a great one (how about that
analogy, hunh.) Even when I send out items that are not major deliverables
but could be sensitive, I will almost invariably run them by my boss or a
trusted co-worker so that some fresh eyes can spot anything I left out and
confirm or offer improvements to my approach.  I don't have to, but I think
it's wise.  I am always glad I did.

I'm sure you know all this, but I guess the question I would ask is whether
you have looked at your process to see if there are enough points where
interaction between you and your staffperson before important deliverables
arrive on the client's desk.  Can you schedule opportunities for
intervention a little earlier or slightly more often without feeling like
you are micromanaging?

2.  Secondly, can you and your staff build a checklist or flowchart together
of the thinking process that needs to be applied so that he/she might not
have to rely on instincts but is supported by a process designed to catch
errors before it's too late.  I think people who are naturally
"detail-oriented", if there are such people, have this process in their
heads.  For those who are not, they can probably do pretty well, if you give
them a process and require that they follow it.  If they refuse or "forget"
to follow it, my opinion is that they are not motivated enough to do the
job, and therefore, they are the wrong person for it.

3.  Getting back to skill sets--I suggested working with the person on a
process, because there may be strength he/she has that can play into it.
Better to build a process that suits there style than one that does not,
although there is a balancing argument that there is only so much variation
that one can build into a system and get the same result, but still systems
should always be a little flexible to an individual's style.  For example,
I'm not sure if I'm detail-oriented, but I'm very organized.  Personally, I
don't think I am very detail-oriented, but I hate disorder (mentally, that
is--my desk is kind of messy sometimes) and inefficiency when it comes to
important deliverables.  For me, this means making sure I follow a logical
and consistent system for achieving significant objectives--so you wouldn't
have to sit down with me necessarily to build a process, I would
automatically do it myself.

Perhaps you have already identified some of the positive traits that earmark
your staff's "style."  Is there a chance that these talents can be utilized
in some way to reinforce the detail-orientation that your client requires?
I believe that once you identify someone's strengths, you can often work
them to your advantage in any situation, as long as the staff is motivated
to do the job and do it properly.

Sorry this is so long.  I think it's a very interesting topic.

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=