Paying attention to detail gives confidence. Knowing your area of expertise extremely well enables you to address any issue that will arise and provides you with the ammunition to answer any question that arises. Undertaking thorough preparation gives you the confidence to execute passionately.
No attention to detail is too insignificant for the best managed companies. UPS has conducted extensive time-motion studies and puts its drivers through intense training. Every part of the drivers' day has been assessed for maximizing efficiency and time savings. UPS trucks have rounded seats so that the drivers can swivel out of their trucks faster and the doors are left open to spare the drivers of the time it would otherwise take to open and shut the doors. Drivers are instructed to land on their right feet when exiting the trucks, take three steps every two seconds when walking, hold their key rings on their pinkies, and count change with the face side of bills face up.
In a nod of solidarity to those working in the field in hubs and package cars, UPS employees are not permitted to eat or drink at their desks. At the distribution centers that UPS runs for IBM, UPS industrial engineers installed chutes so IBM technicians picking up parts and the UPS shipping clerk handing them out would not spend three, five, or ten seconds in conversation during handoffs. UPS' Operations research team continually works on ways to optimize driver routes and minimize the number of left-hand turns a driver makes, because left-hand turns mean wasted time at intersections.
The Walt Disney Company is also extremely diligent about ensuring that guests of its amusement parks have a memorable experience. The Disney actors playing the part of Disney characters that roam the park must act their parts from the moment that they don their costumes. Mickey Mouse must act the part whether he is in the locker room, underground where no guests are allowed or on stage (in the amusement park). Only one of each character is allowed on the stage at any one time. The other actors playing the part of the same character must remain underground until the actor on stages moves off stage. The reason is that Disney wants children to believe that each character is unique. In a similar vein, each performer playing the part of a character must learn to meticulously sign the name of that character according to specific standards. Again, the rationale is that if two children visit Disneyland on different days, obtain signatures from the same character and later compare the signatures, the signatures are required to be identical.
Everyone employed at Disneyland must know how to answer basic questions that guests are likely to ask. A special emphasis is placed on training the cleaning crews in this regard because they are frequently asked questions such as "Where are the restrooms?" Also, all Disneyland employees are instructed never to point with just their index fingers. Rather, they must point either with their index and middle fingers or with their whole hands. The reason for this rule is that in some cultures pointing with just the index finger is considered rude.
