Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast
Pacing for Success: Why Steady Wins the Race
On December 12, 1911, the race to the South Pole between Scott and Amundsen came to a dramatic head. Amundsen and his team had arrived within 45 miles of the South Pole, closer than anyone before them. They had covered 650 grueling miles and were about to win the race of their lives. The weather was also superb that day, and they had ideal conditions to make their way to the South Pole on skis and sleds. They could have been there in a single day with a strong push.
Instead, it took three days. And why? From the beginning of their journey, Amundsen insisted that they cover fifteen miles each day—no more and no less. The last leg would be no different. While Scott only allowed his team to rest when it was freezing and pushed them to inhuman exertion on days when it was thawing, Amundsen kept a steady pace throughout the journey to the South Pole. (McKeown, 2021, p. 134)
Hand on heart: who wouldn’t have at least been tempted to push themselves and the team to go the proverbial extra mile in that situation? I probably would have rushed it. Almost every day, I try to squeeze something into my already-packed calendar. This here and that there, and countless chat messages in between. There’s always room for a little more. And there’s certainly more than enough to do anyway.
“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” We should heed this guideline from the Navy Seals more often when messing up several things simultaneously by our futile attempt to get more done with multitasking. Fortunately, in most cases, our jobs are not a matter of life and death like those of the Navy Seals or the race to the South Pole, which ended fatally for Scott and his team while Amundsen and his people made it back safely.
Festina lente, “make haste slowly,” is a classical adage that brilliantly captures the essence of Amundsen’s victory. Several leaders have adopted festina lente as their motto throughout history, including the Roman emperors Augustus and Titus and later the Medicis. Many attempts have been made to emblem the adage, but the dolphin entwined around an anchor is most recognizable.
If you’re in a hurry, go slowly. In the long term, perseverance and consistency are more decisive than the sporadic extra mile:
An inch at a time, and then a yard, and then a mile, and eventually you find yourself at the finish line: systems change. Be impatient for action and patient for outcomes.
Dan Heath in (Heath, 2020, p. 235)
References
Heath, D. (2020). Upstream: How to solve problems before they happen. Bantam Press.
McKeown, G. (2021). Effortless: Make it easier to do what matters most (First edition). Currency.
This newsletter is a personal project driven by my passion for agile methodologies and leadership. I have been fortunate to sustain this initiative through the sales of my books in both German and English, as well as through the generous donations of my audience, for which I am incredibly grateful. If you would like to support Lead Like a Gardener and help it continue thriving without any ads, please consider making a small donation.
Donate Here → https://buymeacoffee.com/marcusraitner
Find more inspiration in my recently published “Manifesto for Humane Leadership.” Check it out on Leanpub.
