Do Sweat the Small Stuff?

A doctor who did delicate procedures on the hearts of infants had tremendous success – until he had a stretch in which several babies died after apparently successful surgeries. He and a colleague puzzled about this after a surgery. Both liked NASCAR, so they turned on a race. In that context, they saw the speed and precision of the pit crew in a new light. You see, one of the most dangerous times in any surgery is in the hand-off from surgery to ICU. At that time, you unhook and re-hook machines and tubes properly. Goldman and Elliott began to look at every detail of the handoff procedure, coming up with a seven- page manual of processes and drilling team members on their responsibilities. Dr. de Leval got some other surgeons involved in looking at the problem and commissioned a study that confirmed his theory. The study, published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, determined that, of course, big mistakes cause big problems. However, more often the small, unnoticed and uncorrected mistakes by medical teams add up and correlate strongly to bad outcomes for patients. The pediatric ICU chief at Great Ormond Street, Dr. Goldman, concurred. “Our handoffs were haphazard,” he says. The result of the improvements was that technical errors fell 42percent and information errors fell 49percent over a two-year period.

The bottom line? Everything matters, maybe especially the little things. Joseph A. Michelli also reminded of me this recently as I read his The Starbucks Experience. He details how Starbucks has paid attention to every part of their process and stores. In a similar vein, some of you might remember a wonderful little book called “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.” It has wonderful advice for keeping things in our lives in perspective. Like all wisdom, however, in a different context it will fail. Thus, in some circumstances, it pays to sweat the small stuff, whether you are in the last lap of a Grand Prix, developing a successful business, or in the final stages of surgery on a 3-year-old heart. It is all about the process, all about the team, all about everyone knowing their responsibility and executing with precision.

In the church, we must not forget small things like dealing gently with each other in our missteps, sharing the burdens of each other, remembering we reap what we sow, and doing what is right. I am sure you can think of others. Such qualities are important in family, with friends, and in the church. In our most intimate relationships, the small stuff matters.