Little Things Make a Big Impact

At some point in my life, I decided that one of my mantras would be that the little things in life can make a big impact. The risk with stating that in this blog is that people who know me can likely find many instances where I have not lived up to that mantra. Agreed, I am not always consistent with it; however, it is something that I think about often. 

Within the last couple of months, I began posting inspirational sayings and pictures related to #detailsmatter, #littlethingsmakeabigimpact, and/or #bumpthelamp to HORNE’s social intranet. Today, I want to share with you some of the reasons this is so important to me, and why it is important for our team members and our clients.

First off, I was not a great human being during my high school and early college years. I won’t go into great detail in this blog, but I wasn’t sure who or what I wanted to be and that confusion took me down many bad roads. In my darkest moments, I was often reminded of people that had said or done something kind for me. It was those simple, and probably to them insignificant, gestures or words (many of which happened years earlier) that slowly brought me to a better place, both  mentally and spiritually. 

Earlier this year, I was speaking to our team about attention to detail and the little things that make a big impact in client service. After the session, a team member  came up to me and mentioned the book Be Our Guest, which is all about customer service and Disney’s approach to perfecting the customer experience. This isn’t a new book, but it was one I hadn’t read. I ordered it that day and finished reading it within a week. Wow, did that book impact me!!  It provided clarity and structure to thoughts I have had around client service but never been able to articulate. 

That team member could have easily listened to my discussion that day and never approached me about that book. But, I am thankful she decided to take that “little” step! 

After reading the book, I challenged our team to spend some time discussing “little things” we can do to enhance our client experience. The energy and input the team provided was tremendous. The ideas exist and it became clear to me that we have to do a better job of sharing them and celebrating success, even seemingly small ones. 

I leave you with this question…Are you content with the status quo, or are you going to bump the lamp and do some of the little things that can have a big impact? 

About the Author 

Rusty is the partner in charge of public and middle market. He is also a member of HORNE’s Board of Directors and serves on the technology steering committee. He is passionate about creating a culture of inclusion, a Wise Firm where we all work together toward achieving a common mission and vision.