Brian Gubernick explores the principle that how you handle small tasks shapes how you perform in big ones. Cutting corners on minor actions erodes performance elsewhere, while treating small tasks with discipline builds the muscle memory needed for high-stakes moments. He offers practical ways leaders can teach this through modeling, acknowledgment, and connecting everyday habits to larger outcomes.
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Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. We have all probably heard the phrase, how you do anything is how you do everything. How you do anything is how you do everything. I know I've heard it countless times. I'm going to guess most everybody here at the No Days Off Nation, you've heard it as well. It shows up in sports, it shows up in business, it even shows up in parenting. It gets tossed around in, in boardrooms and in locker rooms and in leadership meetings. But here's the thing, got me thinking. Most people kind of stop at the surface. They treat it, that this phrase, they treat it like a like almost a motivational bumper sticker. Today, I want to go a little bit deeper into this phrase. Where did this idea come from? What does it actually mean? Where does it show up in real life? And then most importantly, how do you teach it to your team or your employees or even your kids so it doesn't just sound catchy, but it becomes a principle you live by and maybe they do as well? Let's talk about where this phrase even came from. No surprise, the origin is debated. I looked all around. The origin's pretty debated, but the sentiment has roots in philosophy and in sports culture. I'll tell you where I saw it first show up. Of course, the Stoics. The Stoics hinted at it. One of the famous Stoics, I can't remember which one, and even if I did, I probably couldn't pronounce the name, One of the Stoics had written, small things practiced without care make great things fall apart. Somewhat similar statement. In modern times, this phrase has been popularized by coaches. I've seen it attributed to a couple different Navy SEALs. It's been put out there by business leaders. Joe DiMaggio was famous for saying, he played every game like it might be someone's first time watching him. That's just another variation of it. That's how you do anything. That's a, that's a how you do anything is how you do everything in action when Joe DiMaggio makes that statement. The point is it's not about perfection. It's all about consistency. So this phrase shows up in different variations all over the place. But what does it all really mean? At its core, I think this phrase is about integrity of behavior. It's about integrity of behavior. If you cut corners on the small things, you know, the way you show up to meetings, the way you reply to emails, the way you do your workout, you're actually training yourself to cut corners when the stakes are higher. On the flip side, if you show up with discipline and you show up with focus and you care to the small tasks, you're building the muscle memory to handle the big moments in the same way. So I think it's really a principle of identity. You don't rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your habits. It's a principle of identity. Now, where and how does this phrase show up? Well, in business, let's say a sales agent A sales agent who's sloppy with their notes, their daily notes, or, you know, their CRM, what they're putting in the CRM, is likely sloppy when presenting to a client. A leader who shows up late to small meetings eventually shows up unprepared for big opportunities. In athletics, you know, in training, every rep matters. A runner who skips you know, the easy miles because they don't seem critical, is the same runner who fades when the race gets hard. In personal life, if you're careless with your diet or your sleep or the way you treat people in what you deem to be unimportant interactions, don't be surprised when that carelessness leaks into major areas of your life. This phrase to me is not about obsessing over everything. It's about alignment. Your character shows up everywhere, not just when you think it counts. You can tell that I, that I love this phrase and I'm pretty passionate about it. And so then I've naturally got to think as a leader, how do I bring it to teams? How do I teach it to teams? How do I teach to my people? How do I especially and still hit my kids? Well, I think for teams and employees, it starts with modeling it. If you're asking them to take small things seriously, you can't not take small things seriously yourself. You can't just mail in your own. You've got to go to work. So, model it. I think you've got to call it out in meetings or debriefs. When someone nails a detail, Say, let's say it's sending a perfect agenda before a small meeting. Acknowledge it. Acknowledge it by saying something like, "That's exactly what we mean by how you do anything is how you do everything." Call it out. Lastly, within teams and for employees, tie small actions to big outcomes. Help connect the dots. Clean data in the CRM equals more accurate forecasting, which equals better business planning. Right, or doing these activities yield these contacts that yield these appointments that created this sales opportunity. Tie the small actions to big outcomes. Now, for kids, how might you do this? I think you got to translate it into their world. For example, if you rush through cleaning your room, then you're more likely to rush through your homework. If you practice soccer lazily, you'll probably play lazily on Saturday. I think for kids, you got to use stories, share examples, maybe of athletes or musicians or entrepreneurs or whatever it may be, whose excellence in small things translated to greatness in big arenas. And then of course, with kids, celebrate the process, not the outcome. Praise the effort, praise the focus, praise what they're bringing, the energy they're bringing to small tasks more than the results. Now, for yourself, I think you always, always have to be asking, where am I letting the small things slide? Where am I letting the small things slide? Where am I acting like the little things don't matter? I think that's usually where the bigger cracks are forming. So this is a good, good thing for us to reflect on. So my challenge to you, pick one small area this week where you've been a little casual, even careless, maybe inconsistent, inconsistent. And really simple action item here, just tighten it up, tighten it up, because the way you do the small things is training your identity. And the truth is, how you do anything really, really is how you do everything. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.
