“Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom” (Song 2:15, MEV).
When I read this verse, I’m reminded of the best-selling book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and It’s All Small Stuff. While I understand the underlying premise of the book, I’ve mocked this book to leaders for over 10 years. This is a book for the entitled generation.
I have a much different style as a leader. Small stuff matters. But I don’t need to sweat over whether small things cause me to sweat. One of the most quoted lines from the book is:
“When you die, your inbox won’t be empty.”
This type of philosophy is somehow supposed to help us relax and realize there are more important things in life than seemingly small details. I believe small is in the eye of the beholder. It may seem small to someone else, but it matters in a big way to me.
Leaders know that small things become big things. Little foxes spoil the vineyard. People who sweat small things usually have a particular word or label attached to their behavior that is probably inappropriate to use in this article. Let’s just say that people who are persnickety, precise, or fastidious appear to be flawed.
People don’t like to sweat.
I’m currently teaching a group of writers a powerful method for enhancing their vocabulary. Building a vocabulary will require many small steps, many of which may induce sweat. I have come to understand that building a vocabulary has common ground with leading a team.
It’s hard to build vocabulary with large bursts of infrequent activity. Useful vocabulary is built by doing a little with heavy frequency.
Do a little, a lot.
“For He says, ‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.’ ” (Is. 28:10).
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