Freedom and Autonomy offers Speed

Speed to market, speed to launch, speed to deliver, yes Speed seems to be king.

This idea may be gospel and an oft repeated mantra whispered in every accelerator, but there’s a cost. Is the relentless drive for action, even if it’s messy, better than careful planning? It feels decisive. It feels like you’re finally getting traction.

But what if you’re just spinning your wheels?

This illusion of progress is a mindset that actually creates a culture of chaos. You may have innovation in mind, but disruption, breaking chairs chairs in someone else’s house leaves your exhausted team to clean up the mess. You are likely mistaking the thrill of a roller coaster—a closed loop that goes nowhere—for the real work of building a rocket ship.

It’s time to unlearn the gospel of speed and ask a more powerful, transformational question:

“What is the simplest, most elegant thing we can build that won’t break?”

This question itself shifts your focus. It raises your sightline above frantic motion to seek out durable momentum. Ed Catmull in Creativity Inc. shared that this inquiry is the core principle that powers Pixar. Instead of rushing films out the door, their legendary “Braintrust” deliberately slows down at the most critical moments. They create a safe environment to find and fix the story’s core flaws, ensuring the final product is a resilient masterpiece, not a fragile first draft.

Building something that lasts is an act of intention, not improvisation.

This Week’s Experiment: Look at your team’s task list and find one recurring “fire” you always have to put out, one “broken” thing you’re constantly patching. Instead of patching it again, block out one uninterrupted hour on the calendar this week with the title: “Fixing the leaky faucet for good.”

Your only goal in that meeting is to design a solution so elegant you never have to touch the problem again.

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Unlearning the habits that hold us back is a discipline. It requires practice, courage, and a community of peers who are on the same journey. If you’re ready to stop breaking things and start building things that last, consider joining a cohort. We practice these skills together.