A boss I learned a tremendous amount from had an art-focused analogy for explaining strategy. He likened it to a large painting. “Think of the strategy as literally a large painting, the big picture, the whole picture” he said.

He would then make reference to me “painting the eyeball” (of a subject in the previously mentioned “painting”) when he felt I was too focused on the details and not considering the broader business goals-which, to his frustration I’m sure, was often. It was a while later where, through experience, I was able to keep one eye (ha ha) on the details and the other on the big picture.

The thing is, in this delicate balancing act of the marketing execution skill, is the need for a tremendous focus on the details. Think delivering on budgets, bringing on staff, launch dates, campaigns, keynotes, presentations, deadlines, plans, results – none can happen without the attention to the details.

A good execution team keeps both the big picture and a focus on the details in mind. Without both, details can slip or slide off course and drift away from strategy or well off plan. Little details can grow into big nasty cracks dividing parts of the plan and confusing or alienating people.

Those details that fall through the cracks can undermine the very strategy we’re aiming to support. Details can frustrate even the most patient professional, but ignoring or discounting them and not getting them right can sink a project.

Do you sweat the details or is the “big picture” more your thing?