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# Little Things
- URL: https://makoism.com/little-things-95421779a97c/
- Published: 2021-02-16T16:44:51.000Z
- Updated: 2021-02-16T16:44:51.000Z
- Author: Steve Makofsky
- Tags: makoism, #newsletter-makoism, #substack

#### “Big things have small beginnings”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/61/8f/618f2076-e6a0-40dc-8037-06080661dee7/content/images/public/images/66697be2-7c5f-428f-8b34-21882e5b89e6_1024x682.jpeg)

drops in the ocean

**Little things add up to big ones over time.**

Often “**boil the ocean**” projects that attempt to make huge course corrections, cultural changes, or technology shifts in an organization (or life, for that matter). But I think the biggest lesson that I’ve taken from my own experiences is that it’s really about **the little things** that are done consistently over and over that add up to major long term impact.

While I try to steer away from “work specific” topics, the best example I’ve seen of this what I learned from reading a bunch about [Bill Bowerman](https://www.theweek.in/leisure/society/2019/07/24/the-story-behind-the-nike-trainers-that-are-the-costliest-in-history.html). He calculated that for every ounce (28 grams) of weight that he could shave off from a shoe added up to over **55 pounds** (25kgs) over the course of running a single mile (1.6 km).

**One** **ounce** **ads up to 55 pounds. Think about it.**

I know that “little things” aren’t what people like to talk about, it’s not “sexy”, but focus on them — in the end, you’ll look back in years and be in awe of where you’ve come from and where you are now.