Over time, it is easy to become comfortable with what came before. We naturally want to move on to bigger and better things. If we dealt with million-dollar worries last year, we want to have ten-million-dollar worries this year. Moving up to bigger problems is a clear way of showing we are progressing.
The problem becomes if we have not handed off the smaller items from before to continue to be dealt with. Million-dollar worries have a tendency to become ten-million-dollar problems quicker than you would expect. Moving up without filling in behind you leaves a gap. If that gap happens to linger safely in the rearview mirror, it is easy to forget about it until the problem lands squarely at your door.
Having a strong team is a blessing. A good team is there to help build each other up, watch each others’ backs, and ensure that things go smoothly. But a good team also tends to take on the characteristics of their leader. If the leader stops worrying about the small things to hunt bigger game, the rest of the team will also. The small, left-behind things are still left to grow into surprises.
It is important to ensure that there is a focus on the small and large. Sure, focus on bigger things as time goes on. But do not leave the small things behind completely. Build them into your process to keep the train from falling off the rails.