Last week I was flying home from a hunting trip to South Dakota. The distance I had to fly was further than my airplane could go on the fuel it was carrying if I flew at the speed I normally go – which is fast!
Another pilot who was with me suggested I pull the power back and slow down. That way we wouldn’t burn as much gas and could make the trip in one leg and avoid a stop for gas. The beauty of slowing down, he reminded me, was that we would speed up! Not the plane, of course, but the time required for our trip.
What was funny was that during the trip the other pilot kept making fun of my desire to fly faster. I do everything fast! I walk fast, talk fast, think fast, work fast and – of course – fly fast! The problem with fast, as I learned on this trip, is that fast is often not the fastest way to accomplish your purpose.
One of the things that often frustrates Type A fast guys like me is waiting for others to catch up. Does that sound familiar? If you have to wait on others you are still going their speed! The other, bigger, problem with going fast is you simply miss things.
In business that detail is often the difference between success and wild success.
Missing details often cause you interruptions in your plans, mistakes which force do overs or missed opportunity.
But if you are like me you know where you want to go so it seems easy to think that the faster you go the faster you’ll reach the destination. As I’ve learned in my train and plane travels that is not necessarily true.
I’ve learned that in business as well! So, note to self: “slow down and speed up!”