29. This advice means fundamentally that if we focus our attention on the details of a project rather than on the end product, the result will be better than if we proceed the other way around. Admittedly, this advice has some merit; by focusing on the details at hand one is less likely to become discouraged by the daunting or overwhelming tasks ahead in an ambitious project. Otherwise, however, I think this advice is poor, The central problem with this advice is that focusing attention completely on the task at hand without reference to how that task is related to the end product would be virtually impossible to do. The reason for this is simple. Without some reference to a goal or a result we would have no idea of what task to perform in the first place. As a result, the various tasks we engage in would be somewhat random and, in turn, no matter how diligent and careful we were in performing them the likelihood of producing worthwhile or successful end products would be minimal. To ensure good results, one should instead take a balanced approach to the task at hand. By a balanced approach I mean paying attention to both the desired result and the specific tasks that are required to achieve it. House building provides a good example of |