2. 2
Agenda
• How good are you at paying attention to detail?
• Why attention to detail is important
• Practice
• Improving attention to detail
• More practice
• Exercise: Spot the errors (if time)
3. 33
How good are you at paying
attention to detail? Let’s find out…
6. 6
Attention to detail is more than accuracy
Accuracy in calculations, spelling,
grammar, formatting, etc.
…but also thoroughness in research,
problem-solving, and communication
If you are getting the little things wrong,
people are likely to doubt everything you do
7. 7
Clients
notice
attention to
detail!
Show that you
care and that you
are ready for
your supervisor’s
feedback
Investment
Build a
reputation as a
high-quality,
reliable worker
who can be
trusted
Credibility
Notice shortcuts
or quicker ways
to tackle the
problem
effectively
Efficiency
9. 9
Who do you trust to do good work?
Dear Michelle,
It was great to meet you last Monday. I really
appreciated the conversation we had, and look
forward to continued discussions about
opportunities with your firm.
Hope that we can reconnect later this week.
Please let me know time blocks that work best
for you.
Sincerely,
Grace
Dear michele, It was great to meet you last
monday.
I really apreciated the convertion we had and
look forward to continued discussions abt
opportunities with your firm
ope we can reconnect later this week, plz let me
know time blocks that works best for you.
sincerely, Grace
Email #1 Email #2
10. 10
Who do you trust to do good work?
Slide #1 Slide #2
11. 11
Who do you trust to do good work?
Analysis #1 Analysis #2
(KES, M) Y1 Y2 Y3
Revenues 40 50 60
Costs 30 35 40
Profit 10 15 20
Y1 Y2 Y3
Revenues 40 50 60
Costs 30 35 40
Profit 40 15 50
14. 14
Your physical, mental, and emotional states, as well as
complexity of the task, all influence error rates
• When exhausted you tend to overlook small things
• Take a break from your work and go for a walk or have tea/coffee
Exhaustion
Attitude
• A negative attitude often results in poorly done work
• A good attitude reflects well on your work
Distraction
• Concentration decreases in an environment full of distractions
• Find a silent space with regulated temperature & lighting, and with fewer people
coming in and out
Complex/bulky task
• When a task is complex you may not see your mistakes
• Do work in chunks & prioritize, ask others to review your work, read out loud or go
through your work later
15. 15
Quick spot checks minimize mistakes
Have you used similar
abbreviations & symbols?
Is your formatting
consistent?
Consistency
Are your formulas
correct?
Do your numbers sum
up?
Do you have sources?
Accuracy
Have you addressed all
the required sections?
Completion
Is the information
included appropriate?
Are you addressing the
problem?
Relevance
18. 18
Exercise: Spot the errors
• 90% of investors report progress in availability of
experienced personnel in impact investment
• 89% of investors report increased availability of
research and data on products and performance
Investment
opportunities
Talent and information
Investment performance
Invest. environment
• Investor sentiment indicate slight decline in
availability of high quality investments, and suitable
exit options in emerging markets
• Significant challenge in securing appropriate capital
across the risk/return spectrum
• 82% of investors report progress in common
understanding of definition and segmentation of the
market.
• Slight decline in government support for the market in
developed markets
Private debt investors report more
innovative deals/fund structures compared to
private equity investors.
Impact investment landscape
• 90% of investors report progress in availability of
experienced personnel in impact investment
• 89% of investors report increased availability of
research and data on products and performance
Investment
opportunities
Talent and information
Investment performance
Investment environment
• Investor sentiment indicate slight decline in availability
of high quality investments, and suitable exit options in
emerging markets
• Significant challenge in securing appropriate capital
across the risk/return spectrum
• 82% of investors report progress in common
understanding of definition and segmentation of the
market.
• Slight decline in government support for the market in
developed markets
• Private debt investors report more innovative
deals/fund structures compared to private equity
investors.
Impact investment landscape
19. 19
A correctly formatted slide maximizes attention
Impact investment performance
% Percentage
Overall market performing as expected or above
expectation
9%
78%
76%
20% 15%
Impact performance Financial performance
Underperforming In line Outperforming
Impact investment performance
% Percentage
Overall market performing as expected or above expectation
9%
78%
76%
20% 15%
Impact perfromance Financial performance
Underperforming In line Outperfroming
Editor's Notes
USE THE “STORAGE EXERCISE” HERE. GIVE 5 MINUTES ONLY.
http://www.businessinsider.com/van-halen-brown-m-ms-contract-2016-9?IR=T
(3 minutes)
Presenter’s notes: Well, it actually matters. Anyone know who this band is? [If no] It’s Van Halen. (Do you know the song “Jump”?) There is a story about “diva” rock star behavior about Van Halen – you know how rockstars have crazy tour riders, like “100 white roses” or “a tub of champagne.”
Well, Van Halen’s tour contract said that they needed a bowl of M&Ms – with all the brown ones picked out. Totally diva, right?
Year’s later, Van Halen finally explained what this was about. Their show was really elaborate – they had incredibly expensive lights as part of it, which required very precise set up so that they wouldn’t get destroyed. The details of this precise set up were outlined in the contract – the same one that said NO BROWN M&Ms. So if they showed up and saw brown M&Ms in their dressing room, they knew the venue had not followed the instructions, and so they would either pull out of the show or do a full line check of all the light and sound equipment.
(2 minutes)
Presenter notes:
The point is, attention to detail matters. So what is it?
Thoroughness and 2) accuracy.
It is about getting the little things right – but that doesn’t mean the things are unimportant. It is both getting the basics right – calculations, spelling, grammar.
But also “sweating the small stuff” on storyline, researching a problem, and thinking through solutions.
As we know from Van Halen – if you are getting the little things wrong, the person reviewing your work starts to worry about everything else.
(2 minutes)
Presenter notes:
This is one of the big ways, when you start with a client, that you can establish credibility.
Show that your work is ready for feedback from your supervisor – that you are not wasting his or her time
Getting a reputation for no mistakes
Getting a reputation for thinking things through – making sure that you’re not scrambling at the last minute to set up a meeting, because you thought through the resources you would need
(3 minutes)
Presenter notes:
Let’s go through some examples to see what this looks like in practice for you. We’ve had sessions [or will have sessions] on a lot of the core things you’ll be doing day-to-day: writing emails, financial analysis, and making slides.
So, let’s start with emails. Here are two example emails – exact same content. Who do you trust in your organization?
(1 minute)
Presenter notes:
(2 minutes)
Presenter notes:
Okay, now you know the drill – who do you trust on this one? And walk me through.
USE THE 22-QUESTION EXERCISE. 5 MINUTES ONLY.
(5 minutes)
Presenter’s notes
We’ve tried to give you some tips and tricks for tackling some of the most common “attention to detail” content.
But, also keep in mind that you are naturally better at paying attention in certain circumstances – try and set yourself up for success.
- So…when you are tired – it is a lot easier to miss things. Try and get enough sleep. If you need to take a short break to clear you head, do.
- Attitude also matters – who here thinks they do their best work when grumpy? No one? Probably not. A good attitude not only makes you more fun to be around, it will help you do better work
- Distractions make it easy to lose sight of things. Concentration decreases, even by just having your phone on the table, and ramping up as the environment is more and more distracting. If you are sensitive to it – see if you can find a place with less hustle and bustle, or the right light / temperature / etc. for you to do your best work.
- Finally – if you are swimming in complexity, it can be hard to spot your mistakes. Chunk your work into pieces, prioritize, and revisit later (again reading out loud, or getting other eyes on it can be very helpful)
REVISITING LATER is hugely important – reviewing with fresh eyes can be a really good way to catch mistakes.
(3 minutes)
Presenter notes:
And, when in doubt, run through a quick checklist of some of the common issues
Is the content accurate? Is it consistent? Is it relevant? Is it complete for the task you were supposed to do?
USE THE 15-QUESTION EXERCISE. 5 MINUTES ONLY.
(1 minute)
Presenter notes:
Okay – so hopefully we’ve convinced you that this matters. What can you do about it? If you are not naturally hyper-attentive to detail, what do you need to check or look out for?
In the next section, we will walk you through some common errors and how to catch them.
(4 minutes)
Presenter’s notes
So this is an example of a slide that could be great, but it’s got some…distractions.
Some errors:
- Investment opportunities is off kilter
- Description text for investment opportunities is a different font
- Description text for invest. environment is a different color
- Inconsistency between the three headings – investment invest.
- Bullets for Invest. environment unaligned with other bullets
- Different bullets in investment performance descriptive text
A well-formatted slide allows you to focus just on the content – rather than being distracted and frustrated by the formatting details.
(1 minute)
Presenter’s notes
So this is an example of a slide that could be great, but it’s got some…distractions.
Some errors:
- Non-Arcadia color on the graph
- Typo in Impact performance graph label
- Typo in Outperforming graph label
- Graph font is different
A well-formatted slide allows you to focus just on the content – rather than being distracted and frustrated by the formatting details.
