More Haste Less Speed

It is inherent in our character as people to want to achieve something and be recognised for that achievement. As you develop in your career, your job becomes more and more project based and not only about turning the handle on the business as usual deliverables that you would do day in and day out. Time is always of the essence as you prioritise what has to be delivered. Those random projects or tasks can really be testing on your ability to prove that you can deliver and achieve.

Rushing into things without thinking them through, in the interest of delivering on what is required, is often a result of people feeling they do not have enough time. Once the objective shifts from the “task” to finishing the “task”, it is easy to rush in, having not necessarily thought things through in terms of what it is you wish to achieve and how you plan on getting there.

Thinking is an activity that often gets little attention in the workplace. After all, Performance Management tends to measure what was done, and not necessarily what was thought through in order to achieve the objective. With this approach thinking is actually disincetivised.

Being busy doing, does not equate to getting things done! You can be busy and not in any way contribute to the actions required for you to get the project or job delivered. How often have you seen a project take longer and longer because everyone is in frantic mode and working very hard but not necessarily stopping to check whether a course correction is necessary?

I have never seen a bull in a china shop. In fact, it took me a long time to understand the simile “Like a Bull in a China Shop” as I had the wrong context of what a china shop was. What I have seen is how people’s motivation can get broken and shattered as a result of a project that just runs away with activity that is focused on speed and meeting a deadline, rather than checking that the activity is still valid to deliver on the desired objective. I have seen how systems that work and products that are great can suffer irreparable damage purely because someone had the good intention of delivering something quickly, and in turn made mistakes that resulted in taking longer than originally planned.

“First is everything” you may think and/or believe. Actually, it’s not as simple as being first. It’s about doing it right the first time. Don’t sabotage your prospects of success by compromising the quality and effectiveness of what you want to deliver because you are chasing speed of delivery. Whilst you may need a sense of urgency, speed for its own sake may not get you to your desired destination.

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