Do you have an eye for detail? It's important to pay close attention to the details if you want a ministry that is done with excellence.
A great example of excellence is Disney. While I don't approve of everything they do or say, there is much we can learn from them when it comes to paying attention to the details.
Walt was famous for his eye for detail, and he made sure that everyone on his team paid the same attention that he did.
He said this...
Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.
Here are some examples of this strategy in motion.
Disney World uses over 15,000 speakers to play ambient music in the park. All of those "little speakers" add up to an overall experience of excellent background music.
The manhole covers in Disneyland have an emblem of Mickey Mouse on them.
There are underground tunnels that the cast members use to get to their positions. This is so people won't see characters outside of their part of the park.
Florida is humid and there's a lot of dew, so each morning, bright and early, a small army of cast members wipe and dry each and every surface a guest could sit, put their things or their children on.
The light posts and trash cans change between areas of the park to reflect the unique differences in decor.
The horses on the King Arthur Carousel are all individually hand-carved and painted. They are continually being repainted and all the brass is polished every night.
Look in the windows at Liberty Square and you will see a rifle in one of the windows. This represents the Minutemen during the revolutionary war.
There are no public bathrooms in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom. Walt designed it this way because there were no indoor bathrooms during colonial times.
If you ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant, look down at the ground and you will see elephant footprints.
When you walk into Toy Story Land, you will notice huge footprints from Andy.
Listen to the fog horn sound when you go on a Disney Cruise. It plays "When You Wish Upon a Star."
When the Pirates of the Caribbean ride opened in 1967, the fake skeletons available were so unconvincing that the engineers borrowed medical research skeletons – yes, real ones – from UCLA.
The sorcerer in Fantasia is called Yen Sid. Spell it backwards.
In the Aladdin movie, when Genie takes Aladdin's order, he writes from right to left, the way Arabic is written.
Pirates of the Caribbean attraction has special smells pumped into the air. You can pick up the smell of damp wood and gunpowder.
You can hear music and vocal exercises coming from the window marked, "singing lessons" on Main Street.
On the Mount Everest ride, the climbing gear in the queue is actual gear salvaged from Mount Everest.
Some of the handrails in Disney World get repainted every night to keep them looking fresh.
What great examples of being committed to the details.
Do you have an eye for detail? It is something that can be learned. Here are a few ways to create a culture that has an eye for detail.
Pay attention to the small things.
Excellence is the whisper that comes from a thousand small things done well.
Small things add up to being big things.
Live by lists.
Write it down. Write it down. Write it down. Write it down. Write it down.
Gather people around you that have an eye for detail.
If you are not a details person, gather people around you who are. They can help you grow in this area of leadership.
Look at things intentionally.
Do this. At least once a month, get 3-4 people together and walk your ministry space. Look for things that need to be fixed or cleaned. Write down what you see. Put it on a to-do-list and take care of it as soon as possible.
It's easy to get blind to what needs attention. We get used to seeing the same things week after week and that familiarity leads to missing the details. The cure for this is being intentional about looking for the small details.
Remember everything walks the talk.
We must remember that everything we do is important when it comes to details. Everything we do should walk the talk. Will you miss something occasionally? Yes. Will your ministry space and programs hit 100% all the time. Probably not. But that is what we should be striving for.
That stain on the carpet that you've been walking over...must walk the talk.
The chipped paint on the wall that you've gotten accustomed to...must walk the talk.
The typos in the lesson plan you send to your volunteers...must walk the talk.
The supplies that didn't get put in the buckets for your teachers...must walk the talk.
The messy, unorganized storage space...must walk the talk.
The cluttered sound booth...must walk the talk.
The volunteer meeting that you come unprepared for...must walk the talk.
Work on these type things and you will start developing an eye for detail and that eye for detail will help you take your ministry to the next level.
Have you read my best-selling book "If Disney Ran Your Children's Ministry?" You can get your copy today at this link or on Amazon. It will help you learn even more about doing ministry with excellence.
