Saturday, June 1, 2013

In Praise of Slowing Down

Prepared for the Canadian Marketing Association, May 2013.


I know how it is; after all, I’ve been working in the private sector since 1992. In the private sector, something is often ‘on fire’.  Sales are down, the release is delayed, the launch is a mess, employees are pissed off, customers are complaining.  And the chain of panic sets in. Except business fires aren’t really anything like real fires. We can’t stop, drop and roll ourselves out of it.
The Walt Disney Company has been in business since 1923. That’s a long time.  And so I feel it is relevant to refer to the words of a wise Imagineer as quoted in 2003’s The Imagineering Way:
“If you have five minutes to do a project, spend four minutes figuring out how to do it and one minute doing it.” 
Now in this day and age, there is complexity at every point in any path, and we know that execution and craft are critical so this is not to advocate shortchanging the implementation process, but the principle referenced in the quote above is important.
WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN.
To find the real problem: The ‘real problem’ is rarely the one that seems to be staring us in the face. The real problem is often hidden just a little behind the scenes. Further, good problem definition captures the specifics, the nuance; it is not enough to say customers are unhappy and then to begin solving.  We need to understand ‘the what’ and ‘the why’ about their unhappiness, specifically, and only then can we begin thinking intelligently about how to solve for that.
WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN.
To hear all the voices: To solve complex problems requires the input of many voices of expertise and imagination.  When we rush into action, we often forget to include some of the most important voices in the mix; we race to the leadership or to consultants trying to put out the fire fast and we risk forgetting that our most valuable learning (and ultimately the fastest path to the solution) might actually come from the customer care centre, or the technician in the field or the customer herself.
WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN.
To let the solution stew*: “Don’t try to solve a problem too early…” “we need the stew to simmer.” This is another Imagineer piece of advice. We often salute the magical idea that appears in an instant, yet we forget the form and sophistication it takes on throughout the process of its development.  Sometimes the solution appears magically right away, maybe even often. But we must remember that the solution in the end is almost always an evolution of the seed of that solution that appeared in the beginning. Time is the secret ingredient that makes that growth and development happen.
* “Stew” = Language also used by a Disney Imagineer
Heidi McCulloch