Change. Up. Go slow to go fast.

Change – one of the hottest buzzwords of the 21st century, jazzed, hyped, ramped, cranked… you get the picture. It’s all happening, here, there, everywhere, faster and faster.

Up - where we all want to go, right? Stocks, bonds, savings… our personal brand and reputation…

ChangeUp – let’s start with some definitions, from the page on Wikipedia:

“A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. … The changeup is thrown with the same arm action as a fastball, but at a lower velocity due to the pitcher holding the ball in a special grip.”

Many wise folks who talk about development and change, in individuals and organizations, often say

“Go slow to go fast”

I interpret this to mean a few different things:

1. It’s important to relax and settle down, so urgency and speed don’t become enemies of our goals.
2. We need to look at the big picture, resisting the urge to go with the first idea or approach that comes to mind… This means making time for a little systemic thinking – e.g. if I whack this mole over here, where will the next one likely pop up?
3. We need to be thorough… again resisting the urge to cut corners or leave out steps in a process.

Now, these tenets don’t apply to all situations. When you see a truck bearing down on you as you change lanes on the freeway, it’s time to move… and fast.

But when planning and executing a change in your approach to work and leadership, it pays to go slow… so you don’t have to circle back and clean up any messes that the quick and dirty method left behind.