Go Slow to Go Fast

This is tool 6 of the Approach Toolkit – A mantra reminding you that taking time to think clearly, surface assumptions, and plan thoroughly at the outset will always deliver greater speed and quality in the long run.

What is it?

Go slow to go fast is mantra that serves as the flip side of the linchpin method coin.

Some times we need to take our time, sometime we need to just get on with it. Context is key and experience makes all the differences when it comes to making the right choice for our approach.

To set a bit of context and help you determine the right time to deploy this insight, let’s start of by exploring the difference between complicated and complex…

Complicated vs Complex

If a challenge is complicated, it means there are lots of moving parts to the problem to be solved but the relationships are all logical so to a significant extent, the work required can be understood in a good amount of detail by upfront analysis.

If a challenge is complex, again there can be many moving parts but information may be sparse around certain elements of the challenge and there could be a number of areas that are outside of our control. In this circumstance we would classify the challenge as complex due to the emergent nature of our ability to learn and plan.

Go slow to go fast applies to both types of challenge, but to a differing degree. If a challenge is complicated, it makes sense to go slow up front to complete some detailed planning. If a challenge is complex, you need to do enough upfront thinking to solidify the problem as complex and identify parallel workstreams, then as quickly as possible deploy the linchpin method to start making progress and learning – the learning feedback loop is required to refine your approach.

The Mantra

Go slow to go fast.

It does exactly what is says on the tin – A manta to call upon when stress is rising as you are faced by a challenge with a hard deadline to hit.

How does it work?

It works by you deciding that you need to hit the brakes and slow things down, or if you are at the start, deciding to take your time before you make bold commitments and speed things up.

In the project management world, I sometimes refer to this as creating the plan, to create the plan. This is way you layout your plan of attack to research and solidify your understanding while working towards an all-encompassing plan of achieving your goal.

Deciding you need to use the brakes is key. We have covered this to an extent as part of exploring complicated vs complex, but there is another key trigger for knowing it is the right time for this mantra:

When you think you have the least amount of time, take your time.

The pressure of a deadline causes stress which can lead us to cut corners and make basic mistakes. When the stakes are high it is always worth taking a little more time to plan a robust course of action.

When it comes to this mantra in action, there are some simple principles to follow…

The Principles

1. The Time Pressure Alarm Resist the urge to rush when under pressure. The moments that feel most time-constrained are precisely when deliberate, careful thinking matters most.

2. Plan Before You Act Think things through before starting. Be clear on the right order of steps and what depends on what, so effort is never wasted moving in the wrong direction.

3. Surface Your Assumptions Beneath every decision or plan lie unspoken beliefs accepted as true without examination. These tacit assumptions — shaped by experience, culture, and habit — are invisible precisely because they feel obvious. Alongside them sit unknowns: questions without answers that quietly shape direction. Name both explicitly, before they distort thinking, create misunderstanding, or generate resistance when reality fails to match expectation.

4. Respect Lead Times Anticipate what needs to happen — and when — so that nothing is held up waiting. Clarity around lead times prevents avoidable delays before they occur.

5. Run Parallel Workstreams Not everything needs to wait. Once you have identified your linchpin, progress the workstreams you can while deliberately slowing down to analyse those you can’t. Multiple cycles of thinking and doing can run simultaneously — the skill is knowing which lane each workstream belongs in.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Oversimplifying the problems and moving on too quickly can often lead to more complex problems down the line. It is counterintuitive to slow down when the pressure is on, but that is exactly the right time to do it.

This tool, much like the other approach tools, is not something that stands alone as concept to apply. Woven together with getting all of the other tools in the approach toolkit, it becomes more like a word in your general vocabulary for how you approach challenges in life.

Mix all of these different strategies together to form a blended and context specific approach to how you get things done.

Going slow to go fast is a bold move and one that signals to both yourself and other that you are in control.