ARE YOU STUCK IN THE SLOW LANE?

“I feel the need, the need for speed” – Maverick, Top Gun

There is no doubt that life is fast and furious, and many leaders are buckling under the strain of modern-day complexity and human advancement evolving at warp speed.

But does this mean as leaders we too must drive like Ferraris to keep at pace with change or is there another way and retain our sanity at the same time?

For years executives have been taught about the ‘pareto principle’, also known as the 80:20 rule to help speed up their decision-making. The 80:20 rule is about knowing how to prioritise where to put your energy by focussing only on factors that are deemed most critical to organisational success – which makes perfect sense.

Interestingly, the 80:20 rule has been adopted most readily by more technically oriented professionals who have a habit of getting stuck in the slow lane valuing perfection over speed and analysis that leads to paralysis.

If the only way to win, is to learn faster than your competition – the 80:20 rule is useful but not as relevant now when what is needed is for leaders to be able?to step into new frontiers, build their capacity to learn on the fly and navigate a future that is emerging in real-time right in front of their eyes.

An alternative method is the 40:70 rule and it’s proving to be more useful?in making those tough calls in the heat of the moment when the stakes are much higher, requiring you to do the ‘unthinkable’ and tap into your rational brain while also relying on your instincts to accelerate your time to act. The rule was originally proposed by?Colin Powell , former US Secretary of State.? His views were that successful CEO’s need to make a call when they have between 40% and 70% of the information available. Less than 40% of the right information is like “shooting from the hip” and likely to result in poor decision quality. Waiting for more than 70% will “delay the decision” unnecessarily.

Tap into my article below from CFO magazine which offers some critical tips for leaders trying to find the balance between slowing down and going fast in a business environment that puts pressure on us to make every second count, or risk getting left behind in the dust.?

https://cfomagazine.com.au/the-8020-rule-not-working-try-the-4070-rule-to-speed-up-cfo-decision-making/

Here’s a few to get you started if you’re feeling stuck in the slow lane:

• Validate your instincts with high quality input
• Understand that leading agile is a balancing act between slowing down and speeding up – it’s a dance we need to learn.
• Redefine what success looks like
• Put your “L” plates back on

Let me know how you go!