Outrunning Complexity: Simple Strategies for Staying Ahead in Business

By Deryck Hart

There’s an old saying with a profound lesson in strategy: “You don’t need to outrun the tiger; you just need to outrun the slowest person.” While it started as a quip about survival, its wisdom cuts to the heart of what separates market leaders from the rest. Success doesn’t always come from being the smartest, strongest, or most resourceful. More often than not, it comes from being the fastest—fast to market, fast to adapt, and fast to clear the hurdles of complexity.

Take companies like Amazon and Tesla. Jeff Bezos didn’t build Amazon into a global giant by trying to perfect every aspect of retail. Instead, Amazon became the fastest at delivering what customers wanted—convenience, selection, and speed. Similarly, Tesla didn’t wait for electric vehicles to be perfect before bringing them to market. Instead, Elon Musk’s team focused on moving quickly, iterating on the fly, and maintaining a relentless pace that left traditional automakers scrambling to catch up.

This ability to simplify processes and execute rapidly is often misunderstood. Businesses frequently fall into the trap of thinking they must be the absolute best in every area to thrive. The truth is more pragmatic: it’s not about perfection—it’s about being first. Customers don’t demand flawless solutions; they value immediacy, accessibility, and consistency. Leaders who simplify their approach to focus on speed often dominate, even if their initial offerings are imperfect. Think of Facebook’s early simplicity compared to more complex social networks at the time. By being the fastest to capture attention, it cemented its dominance.

The principle aligns closely with the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, which tells us that 20% of actions drive 80% of results. Winning in business isn’t about excelling across every dimension; it’s about quickly identifying the few areas that matter most and executing faster than anyone else. Speed to market, speed to pivot, and speed to cut through the minutia of decision-making often distinguish leaders from laggards. Companies that focus on the vital few priorities while cutting away distractions are the ones that stay ahead of the competition.

However, speed isn’t just about external markets—it’s also about internal processes and team dynamics. One of the biggest barriers to moving fast is psychological. Leaders often overthink, caught in the myth that success requires perfection. This fear of imperfection slows decision-making and leads to resource-draining efforts to get everything right. Yet, time and time again, history proves that being “first and good enough” beats being “perfect but late.” Fast movers capture markets while perfectionists ponder.

Cultural norms within organizations often exacerbate this. Teams strive for equality in resource allocation, spreading efforts across too many priorities. But fairness isn’t always strategic. The companies that win are those willing to concentrate resources where speed will make the most impact—even if it means other areas get less attention. It’s counterintuitive, but this prioritization fuels agility.

Despite the clear advantages, many businesses hesitate to embrace speed as a strategy. They cling to the comforting myth that if they do everything well, they’ll succeed. However, this approach rarely works in competitive markets. The tiger is always closing in, and hesitation can turn even the strongest competitor into the slowest runner.

Success in today’s business landscape isn’t about chasing perfection or spreading efforts thin across every opportunity. It’s about building a habit of speed—simplifying decisions, launching fast, and iterating along the way. The leaders who embrace this mindset are the ones who thrive.

So, as you reflect on your strategy, ask yourself: are you trying to be perfect, or are you trying to be fast? Define your tiger. Simplify your approach. And remember, in the race for success, it’s not about being the smartest or the strongest—it’s about being the fastest to act, adapt, and deliver.