I thought I was a details guy. I was wrong.

Luke Holle, owner of Superboy Construction LLC in Lincoln, Nebraska, says that about five years ago he would have called himself a small details guy, and he no longer thinks that is true. He has learned he is more of a big picture guy. What he controls now is the skills of the people he delegates the details to.

What he used to believe

Luke says that maybe five years ago he would have said he was a small details guy. It is an easy thing for a tile setter to believe, since the trade is full of small details. Looking back, he says plainly that he does not think it is true.

Big picture, by his own account

He says he has learned that he is definitely more of a big picture guy. He does not present this as a weakness or a boast. It is something he found out about himself while running the business, and it changed what he puts his attention on.

Control the skills, not every detail

Luke says that what is more important to control than the small details is the skills of the people he delegates to manage those small details. If he is going to control anything, he controls that.

The details still matter in his account. They are managed by people whose skills he has made his responsibility. For other owners, the point that follows is that once a crew exists, training may matter more than personally checking every detail. Those are not his words.

Questions people ask

What sets Luke Holle apart, in his own words?

In this clip he says he is more of a big picture guy who controls the skills of the people he delegates small details to.

Does that mean details do not matter to him?

No. He says the small details are managed by the people he delegates to, and he controls their skills.