The Devil is in the details!
(Read the Fine Print!)

So where does this expression come from? Apparently it started out as "God is in the details!" We could say these expressions reflect opposite results of the same phenomena. If God is in the details then we think of opportunities for creativity and growth that result from exploring the details about something. If the devil is in the details, the suggestion is that details of a project can result in failure and ruin.

Today, we tend to hear more often that the devil is in the details. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) is alleged by some to have coined the phrase. Certainly he is one who often quoted it. Mies was an architect. Another architect sometimes regarded as the "inventor" of the phrase is Le Corbusier. These two, along with Frank Lloyd Wright, are known as the paternal triumverate of 20th Century architecture, and it is easy to see that an architect would see the value of details. One of the sayings of Mies that I enjoy particularly is "Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together." There it begins. I suppose the emphasis for Mies would be on "carefully."


"The devil is in the details" can be understood in various ways:

1. Even the grandest project depends on the success of its smallest component.
2. Even the smallest details can cause failure.
3. However well intentioned a project or idea, bad and unexpected things will inevitably come up that will destroy the original idea.
4. Whatever we do should be done thoroughly. Details are important.
5. Solutions break down when they are examined closely.
6. The hard part of what we do is in the many small details.
7. Overlooking small things now will cause problems later on.

All are really variations of the same theme. My purpose today is to make the point that details are critical to our success. Ignoring, glossing over, or minimizing details can cost us dearly in the end. Recently a friend of mine had problems with his car. He took it to a dealer's service department and was given the bad news that he would need either a head gasket repair or an entirely new engine. He wisely took his car to another shop. There the technician discovered that the spark plugs were still the original ones and that style in particular was hard to remove and was thoroughly fouled up. New spark plugs took care of the problem. Small details? Sure! In this case finding the details saved my friend thousands of dollars.


In industry, in politics, and in every area of life, details can kill us. Politicians campaign in lofty, convincing, and glowing language about the changes they will bring. Does anyone stop to ask for the details? Not usually. Legislators pass bills that they assume their staff have read but that they personally know little about. Credit card companies try to entice us with attractive offers that appeal to the unsuspecting. The fine print often reveals extremely high interest rates that become effective 6 months or a year AFTER the person has acquired the card. I found the internet filled with dozens of articles and blogs about the "devil is in the details." Topics range from environmental and climate issues, anti-virus technology, the building of sports complexes and who pays for them, economic issues, and on and on.


What about your business or career? Are you being hurt because details are ignored? Do you have someone with a sharp eye and sharp pencil who goes over the fine print for you or with you? Is your staff free to ask questions or raise concerns?

Some ideas that I find helpful are:

1. Make sure your work "culture" allows for free and easy exchange of information. There are workplace environments where the staff does not dare to raise questions or express opinions. We all have blind spots. Visionaries, take-charge leaders, and entrepreneurs often overlook or regard as irritants, these small details of a project. You need someone who knows how to ask questions and who has the freedom to do so. Such people, while they may seem to slow down our progress and appear to be negative minded, can really be worth their weight in gold. The LIFO® Survey instrument which I often use, is especially adept at discovering whether these dynamics are present on a staff or board. It is not natural for certain types of leaders to seek out the counsel of those we sometimes call the "bean counters," but not to do so is to invite peril and potential loss.

2. It is not enough to highlight a new business plan, a new vision, or a resolution for the new year for that matter, by articulating a few "bullet" statements in a memo. Without details your vision will result in confusion. You need a script. You will need to provide a setting for your staff to hear your ideas and to interact with them, ask questions, challenge them, and thus come to own them as you do.

3. Take a look at job descriptions. Are the roles clearly defined? Do the people know to whom they are to report? As conditions change, are job descriptions and policies changed to fit the new paradigms? I find sometimes in working with groups that there are many assumptions and expectations that are not supported by documentation. This will ultimately lead to problems

4. Always read the fine print! In the computer world, we are getting accustomed to simply hitting the "I agree to the terms and conditions" icon without ever reading what the terms and conditions are. What exactly are you agreeing to?

I think this statement by the late Edward R Murrow applies to what I am writing about.
"The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem of what to say and how to say it."

Another saying that may be even more to the point is the line often quoted by former President Ronald Reagan. In regard to matters like nuclear disarmament and honoring of international treaties he insisted that, we should "trust but verify!"

Have you "been burned" by ignoring the fine print? Perhaps you are about to be hurt that way. Did you move quickly to a new project or venture before all the details were really known to you? Want to talk about it? You can reach me at rick@icarecoaching.com or you can use the contact part of my website.

Dr. Rick Penner
Copyright January 2009