How to major in minor things

Here’s an experiment you can do if you’re a parent, after a weekend with your children: remember how many things they have done which triggered inappropriately intense emotions in you. Here are some of the things on my list:

Leaving the tops off felt tip pens

Colouring themselves with felt tip pens

Colouring walls with felt tip pens

Having an unwiped, dribbling nose

Putting homework down on a damp patch of the kitchen table

Saying the letter “H” as “haitch” instead of “aitch”

Dawdling in public and holding up other people who want to get past

Tearing pages of a library book

The interesting thing about these intense emotional reactions is that they have little to do with the ‘major things’ that actually matter to me – such as my children growing up to be happy, confident, self-expressed and loving. And day-to-day actions which support those ‘major things’ rarely provoke the intensity of emotion as the minor, negative stuff does.

In this respect, I really am majoring in minor things. For me, asking myself “what really matters here?” can be one way to break the cycle.

In the world of legal structures for multinational groups, asking appropriate questions can also be the key to prioritising what matters. That’s the essence of our newly updated self-assessment questionnaire on intercompany agreements for TP compliance. You can download your free copy here.

N.B. If you’re a light on CPD for the current year, feel free to use our free webinar on intercompany agreements this Thursday 11 October at 5pm UK time / 9am Pacific Daylight Time. You can get more information and reserve a place here.