(Lack of)Speed Kills

In business in the 21^st century it is definitely the lack of speed that kills.

In a world that is changing so quickly- just look at the development of AI in the last couple of years- if we arent moving forward quickly we are actually being overtaken. The world of business is taking place at a frightening pace. Well, frightening for some.

The latest book from Frances Frei and Anne Morriss ‘Move Fast and Fix Things’ makes a compelling case for acting and reacting quickly.

Pace and momentum are often mission critical. We forget that at our peril. One of the reasons I don’t work with large corporations is that their decision making processes are often painfully slow. By the time they are ready to make a decision the moment has often passed.

I realise that indecision and snail like pace are not the sole rights of corporations alone. Too many smaller businesses are also beset with similar problems. Once upon a time I used to rationalise my frustration as simply being a quirk of my personality, and my problem but as the pace of the world speeds up, it is apparent that lack of speed is an affliction that really impacts the business and can prove fatal. Whether it is the lack of speed in reacting to customers, correcting mistakes or missteps or individual behaviour, broken processes or outdated business models or assumptions, they build up inertia and set a culture of lack of urgency which will spread like a virus.

So the questions for this week are;

• In terms of reactivity, are you in the slow, medium or fast lane?
• What would the people that matter, customers, team, stakeholders answer?
• Do you measure your current ‘fix’ rate?
• Is your agenda of improvements short and fast moving, or long and laborious?
• How are you going to step up the pace?
• Who is going to help you?

Many successful business owners eventually hit a wall on growth and struggle to climb it alone. When you work with me you get a fresh perspective, a solid plan, and customised coaching so you can grow and scale your business safely and at speed.

To check whether I can help you on that journey https://calendly.com/iankinnery/canweworktogether