Trail, a British hiking magazine, led readers way too far off the beaten track in its February edition: If you had followed Trail’s directions for descending Scotland’s Ben Nevis, you’d find yourself plunging off the north face.

There was no evil intent; Trail simply had a wrong bearing. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has published a warning about the error on its Web site, and no one has died from the magazine’s advice.

So far.

Most workplace mistakes aren’t a matter of life or death, but one sure way to undermine your career is to pay too little attention to detail. Unfortunately, another sure way is to pay too much attention to detail; being a perfectionist slows your productivity.

So how do you balance the two? Ask yourself three questions:

How much harm will the error do? Perfectionists have trouble distinguishing between critical mistakes and not-so-critical ones. If the instructions should say, “Turn right at the fourth stoplight,” but instead say, “Turn right at the forth stoplight,” that’s a mistake. But it’s not nearly as bad as having someone turn left instead.

Do sweat the facts — those errors kill your credibility.

Is there no such thing as a perfect result? There’s a right way to spell “cat”; spell it wrong and you look like a dog. But unless you’re writing the great American novel or a crucial memo, repeatedly rewriting sentences and paragraphs will often cost you more time than it’s worth.

Make sure the spelling and grammar won’t embarrass you, then let it go.

Are you paid to sweat the details? Many new bosses keep trying to do their old jobs, failing in their new roles because they spend too many hours micromanaging their successors. Instead of seeing the big picture, they’re fiddling with the frame.