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The Lie We Tell Ourselves About Getting into the Details
“I’m not detail-oriented”
I used to think I was a high-level thinker.
I was good at seeing the big picture, connecting the forest through the trees, and helping others see the bigger plan.
Now, big picture thinking is a real skill that’s difficult to develop. But I thought that having it meant I was naturally inclined away from the “details.”
Hating the details
To be completely honest with you, I don’t like to get into the weeds of just about any topic.
When a new course starts, I’m very excited about the syllabus, but lose steam when it gets to the individual readings.
When I’m discussing new functionality of our products with developers, I’m excited about the end state, but zone out when they get into the technical specs.
When my partner was re-designing his kitchen, I was interested in the layout and colours, but not remotely into counting the number of cabinets for inch-by-inch modifications.
I told him “It’s similar to how I care about gardening. I like choosing flowers and arranging them nicely, but this feels like you’re examining individual blades of grass. I can’t handle it.”
