misses the forest for the trees
Details obscure whole
To miss the forest for the trees is to focus so intently on details that you fail to grasp the larger picture.
Someone analyzing every word of a contract while missing that the deal itself is bad misses the forest for the trees.
The phrase implies a failure of perspective—the trees are visible, but their sum goes unnoticed: She got so caught up in font choices that she missed the forest for the trees and never finished the presentation.
- tunnel visionInability to see periphery
- penny wise, pound foolishEconomizing on trifles, squandering on essentials
- overthinkingDwelling excessively on thoughts
- systems thinkingAnalyzing interconnected wholes
- perfectionismCompulsive pursuit of flawlessness
splitting hairs · synthesis · prioritization · nitpicking · abstraction · strategic planning · rigidity · missing the point · blind spot · confirmation bias · selective attention · compartmentalization · fixation · making a mountain out of a molehill · rearranging deck chairs · putting the cart before the horse · barking up the wrong tree · narrow-mindedness
misses the forest for the treessees the forest for the trees
Grasps totality despite details
steps back · zooms out · synthesizes · integrates · connects the dots
misses, missed, forest, forests, forested, forestry, forestation, deforest, deforestation