Nearly three decades ago, one of my first bosses pulled me aside. I forget the underlying incident except that I had somehow screwed up, and he bluntly told me to “sweat the details.” I clearly remember it to this day, and it became one of the defining pieces of advice I have ever received. It was also a lesson in the power of immediate feedback vs. waiting for the annual review.

I began to sweat the details, often obsessively, sometimes too much so. Just ask anyone who has traveled with me—or lived with me. Learning the value of details, and how to distill, evaluate, and discriminate, has helped me tremendously.

My annual “do something different” goal for this year is to read a work of literature from a different culture each month. Initially this was something of a struggle for someone who typically reads Clancy-esque techno thrillers and dry business tomes. Twenty pages, if not more, just to develop a character? You must be kidding! Who has the patience? But I dug in and did it. After all, some of the most valuable goals are the ones that push you outside your comfort zone. It’s been a very rewarding experience.

 …