Vacuuming Potatoes Like Your Life Depends on It

The following sentence is not a MadLibs. Last night I saw a man vacuuming the potatoes and I had an epiphany. 

It’s true. I was in the produce section of Whole Foods and there was an employee with a backpack sized portable vacuum and he was literally vacuuming the debris that naturally comes off of the potatoes. 

Here’s why this is important:

1. Whole Foods is owned by a publicly traded corporation. 
2. They are legally mandated to take actions that are in the shareholders’ best interest (increase profits). 
3. Someone in the company has proven that vacuuming potatoes means more potatoes are sold. 
4. Now someone’s job is to meticulously vacuum potatoes. 
5. This is the kind of attention to detail that you’re competing with. 

I love the minutia. I love that when you’re in highly competitive environments the margin for error gets minuscule and the details that matter are incredibly peculiar. Much of the battles I have with folks comes back to people having big goals and little willingness to vacuum the potatoes. 

This man in Whole Foods is teaching us all a lesson.

How maniacal are you willing to be about tiny details?