Walk the Week - Slow Down, You Move Too Fast

With apologies for starting with another music quote, these words from Simon and Garfunkel in a song released back in 1966 sum up my theme for this week. How can we manage time to deal with all of the urgent matters demanded of us as professionals, especially if we have a management role. The challenge we face is that when matters are moving so fast on so many different fronts making effective, intelligent and sensible decisions is incredibly difficult. This is especially so as the business world is moving so quickly with relevant new information on any given situation arriving rapidly in a plethora of forms from Teams to IM to emails.

It could be said, rather bizarrely, that road signs warning of potential hazards are particularly relevant if you are driving too fast. Of course, whatever speed we drive at they always provide warnings and help prevent accidents. But, for example a sharp bend sign is far more important and vital to your safety if you approach the corner at high speed. So how can we heed warning signs and in effect slow down enough to make the best decision and not cut corners.

See this Forbes article Make Better Decisions: Slow Down If The Lion Isn’t Coming which proposes that “the crucial first question in any decision-making process: Should I speed up, or should I slow down?” It suggests “we have near-innate propensity toward snap judgments” citing two hunter-gatherers of the Neolithic era. Both hear rustling sounds in the underbrush. One thinks “lion” and immediately flees. The other deliberates, “Hmm…maybe it’s a friendly forager and not a prowling lion; I’ll hang around and see.” The one who decided impulsively was more likely to survive and pass on his genes but “That impulsive instinct helps the race car driver, but can undermine the myriad personal and organizational deliberations that benefit from deeper reflective thought.”

Building on this in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman “showed that there are two ways we make choices: fast, intuitive thinking, and slow, rational thinking. His book reveals how our minds are tripped up by error, bias and prejudice (even when we think we are being logical) and gives practical techniques that enable us all to improve our decision-making.”

In a project management context see also this article Why Slow Decision-Making Can Improve Outcomes which says “while speedy decision-making may seem like the best course of action in many situations, there are times when a slower, more deliberate approach can be more effective.” It cites several reasons including:

·?????? Careful Consideration of Options

·?????? Enhanced Collaboration and Stakeholder Input

·?????? Greater Team Buy-In and Support

It concludes “Ultimately, it is the thoughtful and deliberate approach to decision-making that paves the way for long-term success in management.”

What this is about ultimately is finding ways to make correct decisions under pressure. Some characteristics and approaches I have observed in professional and business colleagues that help achieve this are:

1 don’t multi-task – it is better to spend 30 minutes on one topic, make a decision and then move on to the next one;

2 take charge and stop distractions from others that take the focus off the topic in hand;

3 however listen to colleagues who have a valid view before arriving at a conclusion;

4 delegate less critical tasks to others;

5 take counsel from peers within and outside of your organisation;

6 have a plan B if you have to drop everything and focus on one matter.

It also can really help in an apparently unresolvable situation to take a short time out. On one negotiation when I was in private practice we were in a hotel in Park Lane where we had reached an impasse that threatened the whole deal. The senior business representatives were both present. They stopped proceedings leaving all us lawyers alone twiddling our thumbs and went for a stroll in Hyde Park, during which they came up with a workable solution.

See this Harvard Business Review article How to Make Great Decisions, Quickly which observes that “learning to make good decisions without hesitation or procrastination is a capability that can set you apart from your peers” and proposes a checklist of eight elements or attributes to prospectively evaluate and promote a great decision including:

·?????? consideration of many different viewpoints

·?????? being as close as possible to the action

·?????? address the root cause, not just the symptoms

·?????? consider the holistic impacts of a problem

·?????? balance short-term and long-term value.

It concludes:

“Many leaders …[are] overwhelmed by fear of making a mistake or, even worse, of not being liked. But the extent to which you might labor on any particular facet of the decision-making process should be determined by one thing: risk. Your assessment of risk will dictate whether you should take a more or less cautious approach.”

It really helps (though it is not easy) to keep things in perspective and consciously assess the risk – is this a bet the firm or company decision, or moving an important but not time sensitive negotiation meeting back a week. In many ways slower more effective, but still timely decisions, paradoxically require anticipation and preparation. See this LinkedIn blog How Leaders Can Benefit from Slower Decision Making which proposes “a growing body of research suggests that slower, more deliberate decision making can actually yield remarkable benefits for leaders” and advocates that:

“One of the most significant benefits of slower decision making lies in the foundation of knowledge it helps leaders establish. When leaders take the time to gather information, conduct research, and seek out expert opinions, they create a solid knowledge base. Armed with this comprehensive understanding of the subject matter at hand, leaders can make well-informed choices that consider a broad range of perspectives.”

There is an old saying in martial arts circles “You have to go slow to go fast”. This is echoed by the US Navy Seals mantra is “Slow is smooth; smooth is fast”.

While the English-American author and speaker Simon Sinek shrewdly observed “It is better to go slow in the right direction than to go fast in the wrong direction”.

And as the American writer James Clear commented “If a decision is irreversible, the biggest risk is moving too fast.”

In any event as Confucius said “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

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