Learning to Slow Down and Speed Up

March 12, 2008 · Filed Under Learning and Living 

Nobody likes to admit they need to slow down at work. It is counter to everything you are ever taught about work. You shouldn’t ever work slower because there is no way that working slower is going to get more done. In fact, you should be both quick and accurate. Great! Perfect world theory: everyone can attain this standard! Real world theory: most people who think they can do this are hilariously wrong.

That being said, I came from an environment where working quickly was alright (and mistakes were quickly forgiven) and moved to an environment where mistakes are to be avoided and I should be more methodical. I can accept that. When you increase the number of employees you are responsible for by tenfold and you are new to a job, that makes sense. I need to slow down.

Here’s what I’ve found out though: sometimes being methodical and working slowly doesn’t always ensure success. In fact, sometimes it is just a waste of time.

To me, it is all about process. Smart processes that speed things up while eliminating the chance of human error. Whenever I do an audit (even of my own stuff), it is easy in the heat of the moment to skip a step or two when you don’t have a process that keeps you on track and on schedule. And really, whenever you are writing a process or procedure for something, you should really be focusing on the goal of eliminating human error and speeding the entire process up. Consistency and efficiency are a side effect of doing those two things. And while they may feel one in the same, when you are writing processes, thinking about it from this point of view is actually better than just thinking a process will make everything more consistent.

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2 Responses to “Learning to Slow Down and Speed Up”

  1. HR Wench on March 14th, 2008 4:07 pm

    I remember the first time a more senior than I co-worker told me to slow down. It wasn’t that I was making mistakes, it was that the company itself was slowing down a bit and since I supported the recruiting function I was literally working myself out of a job. I had never experienced any speed but mach 10 in the corporate world so this was a huge shift for me. It made me antsy.

    Tell us more about your new job! Us unemployed HR pro’s need to live vicariously through you and stuff. :)

  2. health and safety training guy on April 7th, 2008 6:41 am

    Interesting post. I’ve never been in a job where speed is valued over accuracy, so can’t comment on this balance really, but I would say that it’s all about processes and getting these to a point where they’re as efficient as possible. Not wasting your time is very important - in terms of your own sanity as well as being good for the company!

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