Do you braid your hair?

 

I participated in a Tzu Chi (慈济) event over the weekend. Tzu Chi is a non profit organisation which does humanitarian and disaster relief work. I was invited to the event to introduce modern boardgames to parents and children. One thing I learned at the event was girls with long hair must braid their hair. At first I thought this was odd. This rule felt old-fashioned, rigid and unnecessarily ceremonial. Why in this day and age still insist on a rule like this? However as I observed how they conducted themselves and how they worked together, I was reminded of this: "How you do one thing, is how you do everything." As leaders, we sometimes consider certain small things to be beneath us. We have more important things to attend to. Some things need not be fussed over. However, small habits that we build every day shape who we are. Small habits practised by an organisation shape its culture. If we can't do the small things well, who will trust us to do the big things? So, what is your equivalent of braiding your hair that you practise every day?