Ever heard of the saying “speed kills?” It is kind of a given that doing most anything too fast is not a good idea.
What isn’t mentioned often enough however is that going too slow can be just as bad.
I wanted to point that out because I’ve seen some slowing down of late. Many leaders and organizations entered into the current crisis doing a lot of the right things at just the right speed.
They made the proper efforts to keep their people engaged. They communicated appropriate information and didn’t over or under communicate.
I was also impressed with many of the individual efforts I’ve seen. From salespeople reaching out to try and help customers to moms and dads working together to school their kids at home. I was especially impressed with the effort I saw and heard about regarding people making sure to stay in touch with family and friends while pretty much stuck at home.
There have been many good things that have come about as a result of the situation we all find ourselves in. I hope at least some of those things outlast the current situation.
But I kinda feel like many of those efforts are already slowing down. Collectively we are taking our feet off the gas and beginning to drift.
Don’t drift!
Stay focused on how you began dealing with this situation. The things that worked well will work even better when this mess is over and life begins returning to something that feels normal.
Think of it this way… there is a reason the people say “speed up” and a reason they say “slow down.”
Slow apparently has do to with going down. I don’t want to go in that direction. I don’t want my success to go in that direction. I don’t want people thinking my effort, the quality of my work or the amount I care is going in that direction either. I also don’t think you want that.
Intentionally slowing down with a purpose in mind can be good. Allowing slowing down to unintentionally creep into your day is not so good.
Discipline and focus serve you well in good times and bad. Maintain the focus and discipline you had at the beginning of our unusual times. That will give you the opportunity to exit the unusual times better, faster, stronger and more prepared to succeed than when this whole thing started.
Lots of people start strong. The most successful people finish strong as well. Which one are you?
