--- title: Don Khouri Blog - Khouri Coaching & Consulting | big picture description: big picture | Blog for technology and small business leaders. Topics include leadership, team building, productivity --- ![Full Color Logo (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Full%20Color%20Logo%20(1).jpg?width=900&height=258&name=Full%20Color%20Logo%20(1).jpg) # Don Khouri Blog ## [What I Learned At Fidelity Part 4 -- The Big Picture and The Details](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/bid/27108/What-I-Learned-At-Fidelity-Part-4-The-Big-Picture-and-The-Details) Posted by [Don Khouri](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/author/don-khouri) on Mon, Jan 11, 2010 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Leaders need to have a good grasp of both the big picture and the details.  It is the best way to ensure success of your initiatives. Some leaders may be good at establishing, communicating, and motivating followers around the big picture.  Some leaders may be good at digging into the details and know what is going on.  Strong leaders do both well. First, let's define both terms.  The **big picture** is a broad, overall perspective with a long-term view of a project or issue.  The **details** are the particular tasks and items that need to be accomplished to fulfill the big picture.  As the saying goes, "the devil is in the details."  If the leader does not understand enough about the details, they may not be supporting the path to the big picture.  Conversely, if the leader does not see the big picture they could become too caught up in micro-managing the details and "miss the forest for the trees." A great example of this is the software quality assurance (QA) process.  The Software QA group focuses on the overall quality of the product to ensure that quality is built into the process throughout the software development life cycle.  By focusing on the details, the Software QA team will ensure the proper testing of the software during that phase of the life cycle. QA is testing the software to ensure overall quality, and it is not enough.  You cannot test quality into the software; it needs to be built into the whole process from project startup and requirements gathering to implementation and rollout. When a pilot takes off, he knows his destination and stays![airplane landing](https://www.khouricc.com/hs-fs/file-15253164-jpg/images/airplaine_landing-resized-600.jpg?width=296&height=202&name=airplaine_landing-resized-600.jpg) focused on that for the entire trip.  It is fascinating to note that 90% of the time, the airplane is actually off track.  During this time, the pilot is using the instrumentation (note, paying attention to the details) to get the plane back on track.  The only way to do that effectively, is to know the final destination (the big picture).  Successful leaders keep their team focused on the big picture and remind them the reasons they are working so hard to deliver on time and on budget.  Successful leaders also understand enough about the details to provide support to the team, to remove barriers, and to ensure the details are supporting the big picture.  It is easy to get off track and get so focused on a detail that, in the end, will not help contribute to the ultimate goal. #### Don's Coaching Questions: - What is the successful outcome (aka, big picture) of your current project? - How well do you understand the details? - What adjustments do you need to make to get back on track? # [![Complimentary coaching sessions](https://www.khouricc.com/hs-fs/file-15257868-jpg/images/handshake-values2-resized-600.jpg?width=132&height=104&name=handshake-values2-resized-600.jpg)](https://www.khouricc.com/complimentary-coaching-session)Take advantage of my **[complimentary 30-minute coaching](https://www.khouricc.com/complimentary-coaching-session)** session to get started. 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/bid/27108/What-I-Learned-At-Fidelity-Part-4-The-Big-Picture-and-The-Details#comments-listing) Tags: [productivity](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/productivity), [software development](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/software-development), [big picture](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/big-picture), [details](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/details), [quality assurance](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/quality-assurance), [testing](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/testing) [All Posts](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/all) ### Subscribe by Email ### How to Motivate Others Call KCC at 617-275-2554 OR email [contactus@khouricc.com](mailto:contactus@khouricc.com) for a complimentary discussion on how to motivate those around you. ### Twitter ### Follow Me ### Don Khouri ![Don Khouri, Productivity for Technology Leaders](https://www.khouricc.com/hs-fs/file-15256575-jpg/images/don-online-picture.thumbnail.jpg) ### Browse by Tag - [big picture (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/big-picture) - [communication (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/communication) - [details (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/details) - [Fidelity (4)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/fidelity) - [GTD (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/gtd) - [leadership (16)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/leadership) - [motivation (4)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/motivation) - [multi-tasking (4)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/multi-tasking) - [productivity (20)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/productivity) - [quality assurance (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/quality-assurance) - [relathionships (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/relathionships) - [self-determination theory (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/self-determination-theory) - [small business (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/small-business) - [software development (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/software-development) - [technology (11)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/technology) - [Technology leaders (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/technology-leaders) - [technology vision (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/technology-vision) - [testing (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/topic/testing) ### Posts by Month - [October 2012 (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2012/10) - [September 2010 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2010/09) - [June 2010 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2010/06) - [May 2010 (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2010/05) - [April 2010 (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2010/04) - [March 2010 (4)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2010/03) - [February 2010 (2)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2010/02) - [January 2010 (3)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2010/01) - [December 2009 (3)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/12) - [October 2009 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/10) - [September 2009 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/09) - [August 2009 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/08) - [July 2009 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/07) - [June 2009 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/06) - [May 2009 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/05) - [March 2009 (1)](https://www.khouricc.com/blog/archive/2009/03) --- ## Technorati [Blog Information](http://technorati.com/blogs/blog.khouricc.com?sub=tr_embed_t_js)