Slow Down to Move Faster

“Fast is good” seems to be the mantra.  Speed is gratifying.  Going slow is boring.

More and more I am noticing organization cultures plagued by this “Fast is good” syndrome.  Maybe it is good if it found in the lower levels of the organization.  Or when the problems are not complex.

But when the top management exhibit this, it can be disastrous. 

At the top, “Slow is better”.

Thinking needs time.  Creative thinking needs more time. 

The larger the decisions, more time is needed…… to assess all sides of the problem, prioritize the tasks, think of the what/how/when/who of a solution…… a solution that will meet the least resistance while implementing. 

The larger the decisions, the more the need for a collaborative process to arrive at a decision as it impacts the various stakeholders adversely.  This dialogue needs even more time.

“Run the show” and “manage Change” – these are the two buckets under which all tasks of a manager can be put.  And both have their demands on his/her time.

The trouble is when the top managements are overburdened with “running” the day to day show.  They are left with no/little time to think creatively and consult the other stakeholders – i.e. “manage Change”.

The trouble is that "running" requires speed and the managers have become slaves of the go fast habit.  And given that a habits is a habit, this habit stays when they "manage Change" or when they handle complex problems.  Decisions have to be taken, even if the decisions is "let's not decide".

No doubt such organizations show performance in the short term.  But since their responsiveness to change is very low, they find it difficult to survive/thrive in the long run.

Just thinking

Shridhar

PS : I’m not saying that going fast is completely wrong.  There are situations where it is needed and others where it is warranted.  Will cover it in Part 2 of the Blog.