The Hustler’s Playbook – Hustlers Sweat the Small Stuff

Hustlers focus on big outcomes. That focus is what allows the hustler to produce bigger outcomes than non-hustlers. To produce those big outcomes, the hustler must ignore smaller, less important outcomes. If something isn’t critical to producing a big outcome, the hustler ignores it or hires someone else to manage it.

This idea is important. Your life is the sum total of the outcomes you produce, especially the results you produce in your most important relationships.

The non-hustler focuses on small outcomes. They allow trivial things to distract them from larger outcomes. And this is a distinction worth noting (and changing). The hustler hires someone to do administrative work for her so she can focus on creating the value that only she can create. The non-hustler does the administrative work themselves, giving it far more weight than it deserves.

I hear you thinking, “Wait, Iannarino. You hooked me here by saying hustlers do sweat the small stuff. What gives?”

Hustlers focus on big outcomes, and they know all the details necessary to producing that outcome.

I know one hustler who knows the metrics of his business at a level that is difficult to imagine. He can name his top 20 accounts, their revenue, their profit margin, the percentage of his business the account generates in sales and profit, and all the main people on his team who serve the client. He knows all the main contact’s names, their children’s names, and dozens of other details. He cares about every little detail.

Another hustler I know keeps dozens of projects going at the same time. She knows the status on every project, the next action that must be taken, who is responsible for taking that action, and when it is due. Like the hustler in the paragraph above, she is mired in the details on the big things that matter. If it’s important to producing the outcome, she knows the details.

Non-hustlers focus on things that are urgent. Non-hustlers focus on activities that, even if successfully completed, do nothing to produce a great outcome. The non-hustler thinks that they need to sweat the small stuff without recognizing that knowing and dealing with the details only matter if the outcome truly matters.

Are you steeped in the details of your most important projects, your life’s work?

Are you focused on the largest, most interesting, and legacy-building projects? Or are you spending your time on small outcomes that won’t move the needle?