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What We're Reading Now

23 February 2011

Rachel browsed The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence by Tom Peters. Sometimes the little things matter a lot.

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Yesterday morning I was in Richmond bright and early to join C3 for an 'Inspiration Breakfast' and watch my longtime friend Andy Stefanovich work his magic. It was a great chance to reconnect with colleagues from Play | Prophet and a nice way to start a day. As Andy was sharing stories about creativity and inspiration and innovation (all good things, with more to come when his book is published in April), I was reminded of the ways that little things make big differences in work and in life. And that reminded me of this book by Tom Peters sitting on my desk at the office.

 

You could say we're going full circle when I write about The Little Big Things in a blog post since the book is, in fact, a compilation of Peters' blog posts. As such, it's 500 and some-odd pages of chapters only a few pages long, each focusing on a proverbial little thing. From the way two-cent candy can transform a retail experience to why the Pentagon should write all the zeros in a billion to (one of my favorites) why a hand-written note to say thanks trumps an email every time, the book is chock-full of wake-up calls about the often easy, usually straightforward, sometimes silly things that we forget to do when we're caught up in the big, complicated stuff. 

While I like the spirit of the book and found myself frequently nodding my head (and restocking our office candy dish), I don't advise trying to read it in one sitting. Not only is it long, but if you're anything like me, you may tire of Peters' literary yelling full of words in big bold letters and admonishments galore. Instead, read a few pages, set the book aside, and spend just a minute rediscovering a little thing that matters to you and makes a difference. Then make someone's day - whether yours or someone else's - by doing the little stuff.



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