In the marketing business it’s easy to get hyper-focused on the big clients, the big media, big campaigns, big projects, big agencies, big celebrities. In a way, it’s natural.

But I am reminded daily that it is almost always the little things that make the difference between good and great (with all due respect to Jim Collins). The one extra effort or attempt or idea or question… the one extra phone call or email or letter… the one extra minute… the one extra review or edit… the one extra pat on the back or word of inspiration… the little things.

There is a great story about Jack Kahl, then the owner of a fledgling tape company called Manco. Jack was working his own booth at a lumberyard trade show in Dallas. The show ended at 5:00 p.m., but 20 minutes before close, when hardly anyone was around, Gary Broach, a buyer from Walmart, approached the Manco booth looking for promotional, seasonal goods. But Broach had other appointments, so he told Kahl to wait for him, which he did. Broach returned at 5:25 p.m. and was surprised to see Kahl still there. Broach asked about the cost of the tape, and Kahl told him $1 per roll. Broach responded, saying he wanted to buy 88,000 rolls. Less than 25 years later, Kahl sold the business to Henkel Group for $116 million.

And there you go.  Little things.

Or for those who prefer a good song to a good story, consider what Good Charlotte said:

The little things, little things
They always hang around
The little things, little things
They try to break me down
The little things, little things
They just won’t go away
The little things, little things
Made me who I am today
GO!