The highest comment that can be given a business person is that they are a DOG. People are surprised when they are called a DOG but it is just because they do not understand that it is an acronym. DOG is detailed oriented guy (gal).
So why is being a DOG a good thing in business? What is so important about being detail oriented? It is the details of almost any business transaction that provide for customer expectation being exceeded, employee expectations being met, contracts being acceptable or not, project completion dates being met or not, and so on.
A couple of real life examples:
Vendor – Customer
A vendor and a customer had been dealing with each other for a number of years on a variety of products and projects. The accounting became very confusing due to volume discounts, contract incentives and returns. Finally, it was agreed that they would come to an agreement to the balance as of a date certain and settle all accounts, before moving forward. The vendor presented the customer with open balance to which the customer quickly agreed. A formal agreement recognizing the outstanding balance was prepared by the vendor, signed by both parties and money was transferred,
Some months later the vendor discovered that an invoice had been “missed” in a significant amount. Approaching the customer to pay the “missed” invoice the agreement was used successfully to surrender the invoice. It was clear that the vendor lacked DOGs on their side and the customer had DOGs on their side (the ethics of the situation not being addressed).
Employer – Employee
An equipment dealer was strapped when a mechanic located in a remote service site suddenly quit. The dealer had options look for a qualified employee in the remote site or move an existing employee from corporate. Employees were approached regarding relocating. One agreed to relocate with the understanding that they would be the shop manager and receive a significant raise. Exact dollar amounts were discussed but never put onto paper.
After receiving his first full paycheck in the new location his calculation of his pay did not match his expectations. Upon inquiry he was told that they could not give him the raise they had discussed but something smaller. Again, ignore the ethical issues, if one or both parties had been DOGs a clear understanding of the arrangement would dispel future problems.
There is a downside to DOGs, they tend to be methodical and tenacious, pressing all around to understand and live by the details, sometimes spending vast amounts of time to understand the implication of situations. The upside is that they can save employers vast amounts of time and money, can exceed customer expectations and make you, the company look great.