Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast

Conflicting words of wisdom always fascinate me. The word is mightier than the sword, we're told, but actions speak louder than words. We're asked to live in the moment -- live as if we could die tomorrow -- but we also need to be disciplined and patient, to delay gratification.

In Ryan Holiday's Discipline is Destiny, he shares two bits of wisdom that at first glance seem contradictory. In one chapter, called "Hustle, Hustle, Hustle," he extols the virtues of approaching things with a sense of urgency -- in other words, hustling. All the greats -- athletes, leaders, generals -- have this quality. When at Amazon, my favorite Leadership Principle was "bias for action" and I always tried to apply it to my work. (Bias for action also happens to be one of the mottos of Walmart's founder, Sam Walton, which he discusses in his excellent book Made in America. Reading the book tells you that the man is the embodiment of hustle.) And one of my favorite books, Messy by Tim Harford, discusses in detail the accomplishments of those who forgo tedious deliberation and planning, and just get things done.

However, in the very next chapter, called "Slow Down... to Go Faster," Holiday turns to discussing how rushing through things is a recipe for disaster. The chapter discusses how those who rush will miss details, make too many mistakes, and ultimately not be very efficient. We should look to Augustus Caesar and his distaste for rushing, Holiday says, as an example of how slowing down and being deliberate can lead to greatness; one of Caesar's favorite sayings was festina lente -- make haste, slowly.

Are the two ideas contradictory? The latter chapter itself discusses that they're not. If you don't have hustle, you'll never get started. You'll be stuck in the planning and thinking (and overthinking) stage. Yet if you rush you will miss important details; the lack of deliberation may lead to mistakes and frustration; and your resulting work may not be high quality.

What, then, should we do? We need to hustle to get going, but then slow down and focus once we've started. The focus and deliberation will ultimately lead to greater efficiency, and the work will get done faster. "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast," as the saying in the military goes. And as the wildly popular song Despacito, which literally translates to "slowly," tells us... actually, no, the song doesn't have any useful life lessons. (Killer beat, though!)

You need to have hustle so that you don't give in to laziness and procrastination. "You may lose battles, but never lose a moment to sloth," as Napoleon once said. But getting things done well necessarily involves some planning, and a fair bit of focus and concentration. Rushing won't do.

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