Making noise for the sake of making noise, acting in haste, surfing on ‘hot’ topics without delving into them is becoming a general trend. Are these the right answers to the current challenges? Some doubts are raised by certain observations…
Wanting to emphasise a certain slowness and time for reflection automatically generates criticism or sarcasm from partners, competitors, and even neighbouring countries. For many, taking time - being very ‘Swiss’ in a way - means being slow and boring. Is this really a flaw?
In most major projects or initiatives, decision-makers expect results in the shortest possible time. Pushing the organisation to its limits or out of its comfort zone has many advantages. However, a sense of urgency should not be confused with haste.
After the excitement of announcements comes the time for realism and pragmatism. This is where managerial skills and a sense of tactics are decisive for the success of a project or initiative. The manager must know how to manage the pressure of the leaders while setting a pace that is bearable for his or her teams in charge of implementation.
The maxim “it is better to make a partially wrong decision right away than a right one too late” is still very relevant in many cases. On the other hand, it is sometimes necessary to know how to wait, slow down or even postpone decisions and executions despite the pressure. How many projects have been mishandled or produced poor results because there was too much confusion between action and haste?
In this respect, large companies are great producers of missed opportunities, aborted projects, and inefficient initiatives. The good fortune for most of them comes from the fact that the economy is forward-looking, much more than introspective: the risk is ultimately quite limited for the initiators of ‘bad ideas’.
It can be argued that the large groups have a ‘mandate’ to test, to launch leads, to create platforms which one can imagine will not all be positive: this falls under the heading (cost?) of ‘operational risks’ and the role of precursor.
Experience shows, however, that with a little hindsight, considering additional endogenous and exogenous elements, one can reduce the risks and increase the potential for success of a project. It is true, however, that there is nothing sensational or flamboyant about this approach. In a world that is increasingly based on the short term and image, it is not very promising…
Conceptualising a project, studying the alternatives, questioning the experts, imagining alternatives and the risks takes time and calls on other skills. It is this “long time” that many observers consider to be slow: if this is the price to pay for a solution to be sustainable and efficient, being considered “slow” is only an epiphenomenon.
Of course, this approach is not always appropriate, and ‘quick and dirty’ is sometimes the best solution. Once again, this is where managerial skills, experience and flair make the difference, enabling the best pace of change to be defined, to operate.
Contrary to what many of today’s hyperactive - or excited - people may think, being slow does not mean procrastinating or being weak: it means taking the measure of time and making it a positive factor in a project.
So it is with slowness, determination, and a little irony that I wish you a quiet week, patient reflection and see you soon.