As we all know the Magna Carta is a charter first issued by King John in 1215 that guaranteed the liberties and rights of his subjects and also placed the Crown under the authority of the law. Just as true today as it was then. I saw a news item about this on the BBC this week Harvard cut-price Magna Carta 'copy' now believed genuine. Apparently, a copy of the Magna Carta held in Harvard Law School bought for £7 (£339 now) in an auction in 1946 was thought to be a later copy from 1327. Very careful analysis has now established that it is in fact a rare and lost original. This research looked at the small details such as the handwriting, dimensions and text to come up with this astonishing conclusion. The Harvard version is now conservatively worth over £15 million. Everyone advises us to focus on the bigger picture which of course is sensible. But I suggest that like this research attention to details and getting the small things right in life and professional work is a critical skill that improves our capacity to take the bigger decisions and actions. In my professional practice area of the law attention to detail is a prerequisite as it is in many professions. If the small details are correct, then it often follows that the bigger picture will eventually turn out to be. 

As AI suggests “In professional life, attention to detail involves a thorough, accurate, and consistent approach to tasks, ensuring high-quality work and minimizing errors. It's a valuable skill that contributes to efficiency, productivity, and positive relationships with clients, vendors, and stakeholders.” This is a valuable skill that is easy to underestimate and neglect developing as we focus on “getting the big picture right”. See for example this article How to improve your attention to detail which suggests that “Employees who consistently produce error-free, high-quality work directly contribute to the success and profitability of a company.” It proposes ways to improve this skill such as limiting distractions, regular breaks and having an uncluttered work environment.

I also found this interesting article from the University of Southern California 12 Simple Ways to Be More Detail Oriented (and How It Will Change Your Life). It suggests this is not as simple as it sounds and that it requires someone who:

• Pays attention to the little things
• Is thorough with their work 
• Puts effort into presentation and aesthetic 
• Follows through with their duties
• Doesn’t require micro-management
• Checks their own work 
• Is organized and prepared 
• Has a good memory

It proposes that “being detail-oriented means you need to slow down, which leads us to the next skill: setting appropriate deadlines” and points out the dangers of multitasking and “tech distractions”. Interestingly it proposes using a notebook and pen – “writing things down by hand makes it easier to retain that information”and also advises:

• Check your work (not just using a spell checker!
• Take a second opinion
• Use Checklists (see my post Use a Checklist) and templates

While this PWC article Attention to detail matters suggests “Whether it’s nature or nurture, being a stickler on the minutiae is a quality that benefits employees.” It also indicates that attention to detail can be innate and hard to learn but is important citing Kim Perell, an entrepreneur in the technology sector. “And if you’re not meticulous on everything you do, that means you’re going to be sloppy somewhere else. I have zero tolerance for that. I’ll even tell people after a meeting if they forgot to the put the page number on a particular slide. I believe everyone’s trying to do a great job, but I think they need the feedback to remind them to be really professional.”

To some extent in this age of hyper quick business communication taking the time to get the detail right is often seen as an unnecessary luxury. In those now forgotten days of using the post for legal correspondence the more leisurely pace of communication allowed partners or senior lawyers to check the correspondence of more junior colleagues before it was sent. This is not something that really happens in our age of Teams chat. One of my personal bugbears in creating effective outsourcing contracts is the challenge of getting say technical architects or finance colleagues to use the defined terms you have carefully crafted in the agreement structure throughout the document. However, there is no excuse for sloppiness as in addition to following the various advice cited above, we now do have the advantages that technology brings from basic spellcheckers to AI tools that will, for example, conform the use of defined terms in legal documents and produce first drafts. Even then my experience with say litigation software is that it can power through immense volumes of documents and sift out relevant material, but this still needs to be checked for context by an actual lawyer.

Of course, being stuck too much in the details can mean losing sight of the bigger picture, but generally in my experience if we do not get the small things right in our professional working world the larger issues also fall apart. According to Wikipedia “The devil is in the detail" is an idiom that refers to a catch or mysterious element hidden in the details. It derives from "God is in the detail" attributed to German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969). Earlier on Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) said "Le bon Dieu est dans le detail." Meaning that things seem simple at first but are more complex or require more time and effort than expected. The earlier idea is that details are important; whatever one does should be done thoroughly.”

And I am very much not alone in advocating this professional attribute.

"Details matter. It's worth waiting to get it right." Steve Jobs.

"If you place the emphasis on getting the little things right, and address the everyday problems that come up, you can encourage a culture of attention to detail." Richard Branson.
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"Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail." Leonardo Da Vinci. 

I am writing this on the balcony of our apartment in the South of France which I am very busy preparing for the coming rental season. This involves a lot of what the French call “bricolage” which I have always thought is a better expression than the more prosaic English “do it yourself”. Today I had planned an early start and a visit to a store about 20 minutes’ drive away to purchase an air cooler. I left early, wondering why the traffic was so light, and waited outside the store gates for it to open at 9 am. Nothing happened so I Googled the store opening hours to discover why it was closed! Because Thursday May 1st is a public holiday in France, known as La Fête du Travail (Labor Day). It's a day to celebrate workers' rights and is a day off for most people, with many businesses (including my bricolage store) closed. In the UK we do not recognise 1 May as a public holiday unless it coincides with the early May bank holiday so I forgot. I should have done my research better.

And this is very much a lesson for our professional lives as well. Before, for example, any contract negotiation how often do we simply turn up on the first Teams call or in person meeting with no idea who we will find on the other side of the screen or table or how to deal with them. I have always advocated taking some time to research who the “opposition” will be before meeting them and therefore maybe have some notion as to how they will behave. This enables planning and also informs what to do when the inevitable difficulties in the discussions occur. And in our online connected world this information is readily available. If you do not know the individuals involved Just look up the names appearing on the meeting invite and Google them or search for their profiles on LinkedIn. Ask colleagues if they have ever dealt with these people or even say worked with the professional firm involved. At the very least you can ascertain the level of the professional involved. I have perhaps paradoxically sometimes found experienced partners easier to negotiate with than up and coming young assistants, who whilst usually very competent sometimes have a point to prove and won’t concede anything – or perhaps don’t have the authority to do so. They may also not be confident about compromising any issue. By contrast some very experienced lawyers may have a rather high opinion of themselves which informs their approach – not always for the better!

See this article 12 Important Negotiation Skills (With Definition and Tips) which as one of its tips suggests “Do your research - Before entering into negotiation talks, evaluate all sides and consider their goals. It can also be helpful to research the person you are negotiating with. Understand the limitations of the negotiator. Do they have the ability to give you what you want? Understanding these limitations can help you strategize.” Understanding the negotiating authority of the other side is crucial. They may simply not have the ability to make changes you ask for however reasonable because of their organisation’s policies or their position within the hierarchy.

This is all a part of the need for proper preparation for any professional work like my contract negotiation example. Never mind who is involved, how often (especially under the inevitable time pressure) do we just “rock up” to a negotiation thinking we can wing it, especially the more senior we become. In private practice clients don’t always see the benefit of careful preparation and certainly don’t always want to pay for this work - or they do it internally but exclude their external advisers. By contrast I recall one negotiation where I was a partner in the law firm instructed on a major technology procurement deal (and therefore I suppose quite expensive). The lead negotiator of our client made a point of getting all his team including me together for a pre meeting. Not just 10 minutes in the nearest Costa Coffee before the first encounter but an all-day session in one of their offices. We considered who we were likely to be dealing with, what approach they would take, what we wanted and what we would do if things went awry – covering the walls with flip chart pages capturing our ideas and conclusions. We also determined the limits of our negotiating remit and authority and appraised relevant senior management and stakeholders of our approach to check they were on board and in case we needed further support as the deal progressed.

I commend this Harvard Business School article How to Prepare for a Negotiation which observes “Negotiations can be unpredictable and challenging—it's difficult to know how the other party will react to your proposition. Planning can make the difference between success and failure.” It then recommends 7 steps to take in preparing for a negotiation including:

• Build a Relationship - Building a relationship with your counterpart is vital. If possible, get to know them and establish a rapport before the negotiation begins.

·      Know Your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) - “It may seem odd, but the first thing to consider in preparation is what you’ll do if you're not able to reach an agreement,” - Michael Wheeler a professor at Harvard Business School.

• Strategize - Consider various factors, including your desired outcome, priorities and interests, assessment of the other party's goals and objectives, and any leverage or alternatives you have. See 4 Tips for Developing a Negotiation Strategy.

The incidental benefit of preparatory work is that it helps establish a coherent negotiating team and enables the various professionals involved to learn how to work together and plan their behaviour in the discussions. It can determine who will lead and what to do if things are falling apart – for example who will call for a time out away from the heat of the negotiation. This incidentally seems somehow harder on Teams calls though it is perfectly possible to have separate virtual break out rooms the two sides can retreat to for private conversations – and sometimes just to calm down! 

And as is often the case none of this is new. Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) observed “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.”

While in the 5th century BC in The Art of War Sun Tzu suggests “Most battles are won before they are fought”.

Coming a bit more up to date Muhammed Ali commented “Before I’d get in the ring, I’d have already won or lost it on the road. The real part is won or lost somewhere far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”
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So what did I do with my unexpected holiday? Well I took the day off from my bricolage work and went to St Tropez, where I bought a small painting on the quay side, and then visited a beach nearby, all very relaxing.