I will get through this big picture by focusing on one detail at a time!

Do you consider yourself more of a big picture person or a detail oriented person?

It's one of my favorite interview questions. I love that you can tell where people place importance by HOW they answer it. The way they answer (no matter what their answer is) usually conveys what they think is the "right" answer, and that tells you more about a person than anything.

I don't think I would say this in an interview, but I think the way I see it is a fractal. It's definitely a big picture, and I enjoy the big picture, but I'm very aware that it's made up of details, and I'm fascinated by the details. I love to zoom in on them, and see how they compare....but that's when I see that each detail IS also a big picture...made up up more details which are also big pictures (and so on). The reason I love the big picture is because of the details. I see the whole picture and the details at the same time.

And I think that is why I like the question. There are really 5 general answers (even though you're only offered 2). You can be big-picture type or detail-oriented and be oblivious to the other side, but you can also start with one and then switch to the other.

Oh well, anyways....I'm realizing a whole new world to this question, not just because of the endless interviews that we are doing as we find my replacement, but also because I have really been struggling with finishing strong. And the hardest part is that I don't even know what's going on. The task(s) at hand are very overwhelming. I always thought seeing both were ideal. I can see the big picture and I can see the details, but it's hard for me to for me to see how they connect....and without that I have NO picture.

So, I created a spreadsheet that gives me the big picture of projects that need to be done (color-coded by week) with every detail there. And every day I say to myself that I will get through this big picture by focusing on one detail at a time!