Pay Attention to Everything

“When you know more, you’ll see more, you’ll do more, and you’ll be able to execute better.”

Excellence comes from paying attention to the details other people might overlook. Early in my career I didn’t always understand that. I learned it by working for organizations that had high expectations and leaders who took the time to teach me what great service looked like.

When I worked for Hilton, including the Waldorf Astoria, I learned how demanding guests could be. It is incredibly important to get things right. Everything mattered, including the way you checked someone in or delivered room service. Even the way you presented a plate of food.

Later, at Marriott, I saw how clear standards made those expectations consistent. There were procedures for everything, including recipe cards that ensured a guest received the same quality meal every time they visited.

Then I joined Disney, where attention to detail was taken to another level. And not just in the hotels or food service. I remember hearing about Imagineer Joe Rohde traveling to Nepal to find an authentic doorknob for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Think about that. A doorknob. Most people might never notice where it came from, but that level of care helped create an experience guests could believe in.

Over the years, those experiences changed how I looked at businesses. I started noticing things I might have walked right past earlier in my career. That’s something every leader can learn to do. Walk through your business and look carefully at what customers experience. Pay attention to how people greet one another, how things are presented, and whether the environment reflects the quality you promise. You may discover small problems that have been there for months because nobody thought to look.

Once you begin noticing those details, you can turn them into standards, train your team to recognize them, and make sure they are consistently addressed. The more you learn about excellence, the more opportunities you’ll see to improve.

You don’t have to work at Disney or a luxury hotel to create an exceptional experience. You just have to care enough to notice the details and take the time to get them right.