Good Morning,

In journalism class, years ago, I remember being told the average newspaper reader will read the first 7 sentences of the article before losing interest. The message was for us to tell them what we want them to know up front and not bury it in or at the bottom of the article.

Think of the TV advertising for numerous medications where, at the beginning, we are told of the great, almost miraculous benefits of the product in a warm and convincing way, only at the end being told of the numerous potential risks and hazards so fast it is literally impossible to grasp. If we want to stay alive, the devil, here, is truly in the details.

Legal contracts, whether home purchases, vehicle purchases, insurance agreements financing agreements or numerous contracts, many times, buried deep within, contain clauses stating what is not covered, what they will not do and conditions for cancellation and many other disclaimers. 

Software license agreements are similar. How many times have we scrolled to the bottom and clicked accept, never reading all of the fine print. Too often, we assume it is a reputable company and blindly check the box as the fine print is just too cumbersome to read and understand.

The message is simple but important. Read and understand the entire contract/agreement. Does the agreement give me what I want? If the person/business you are contracting with is not going to be doing something, ask yourself the hard questions: “Is what they are not doing important?” “Does it need to be done?” “If so, who is going to do it? If it is me, do I have the skills, ability & experience to do it?” 

Yes, the devil is in the details. Pay attention to detail or they just might come back to bite you at an extremely high cost.

Jim