Achieving speed doesn’t just mean being fast (image source)
You’ve heard of the saying “more haste less speed”. Apparently, this is true not just in life but in management.
Ed Boswell, former CEO of the Forum Corporation, shares in this clip from Harvard Business Review (HBR) that the most efficient firms pay attention to speed, pace themselves well, and take care of the people factor. By doing so, they can achieve up to 52% higher profit and 40% higher sales than the rest.
Paying attention to speed doesn’t mean going plunging ahead recklessly. Rather, it entails focusing on the following things:
- Pace: ensuring that all factors in an organisation are aligned;
- Taking care of the People Factor such that there is Clarity (everyone knows the “why”), Unity (everybody has bought into the process), and Agility (the ability to maneuvre quickly and nimbly).
- Establishing clear lines of accountability and high standards of success.
- Empowering and trusting employees, yet giving them the backing that they need, ie the “I got your back” style of management
- Ensuring that an organisation’s climate is conducive for success and measurable.
Here’s the video of Ed speaking to HBR’s Sarah Green:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdWNn-tyTVw
