Slow Down: Learn to see the obstacle and strategize
The memory of the voice in the back of my head is as fresh today as it was in 1999. My dad and I were riding Slickrock trail in Moab, Utah. That means we were in the 110-degree heat following a faded red dashed painted line on the slick rock. Since I was 14 years old and an obvious pro mountain biker I was moving at quick pace.
My dad started yelling, “slowww doownnnn, slowww doowwwnnnn”, as if something horrific was about to happen. A few minutes later I was off the red dashed line on the rock and headed straight for a ravine! I was going too fast to turn … so I went down and stopped sliding right before the ravine. My bike was dangling on my foot over the edge. My arm was bleeding enough to paint a new trail and my dad was saving the “I told you so” for later, after he realized I was going to survive.
I had read all about this trail in mountain bike magazine and was ready to dominate it, but I ignored the coaching … and I almost went into a deep ravine.
The SDI 2.0 assessment has "reckless" as my top overdone strength, and I think we can see why!
What’s this inspirational story have to do with strategy?
Here a couple of questions:
Are you 10 steps ahead, knowing every curve coming, or trying your hardest to keep from going into a ravine?
Are you constantly trying to keep up or are you able to delegate and maintain prioritizing life and work flawlessly?
Most leaders we work with struggle with strategy. When we struggle with strategy, we don’t see the obstacle early enough to mitigate it and make life harder than it needs to be.
If we could just slow down … the clients are demanding it today.
If we could just plan … but we don’t have time.
If I could just take a break … but if I don’t work, I’ll get farther behind.
Some of the pain points we have worked to relieve with clients to help them focus on strategy have been:
More effectively prioritizing and delegating
Knowing when to say yes and when to say no
More effective time management: Does it have to be a meeting? Do I have to be at the meeting? Do I have to fly in for the meeting? Does the meeting have to be an hour long?
Blocking time that doesn’t get moved to focus on knowing where your business is and where your business is going (the building blocks of strategy)
When my dad was yelling at me it was not because he was upset … it was because he saw what I couldn’t see. He saw that the path I was on was not sustainable at the pace I was going.
Our focus at Insight Leadership Group is to help leaders love life @ work and love life @ home. We want to see you kick butt and take names and be healthy while you do!
If this resonates with you a bit, picture my dad with the standard dad voice yelling, “slow down”.
The navy seals have a saying, “Slow is Smooth and Smooth is fast”. It seems counterintuitive, but it’s vital to our health as leaders.
Slow down. You can’t be smooth without good strategy. My wife will attest to that. Without good strategy, you can’t be fast for an extended period of time without negative unintended consequences.
Where do you go from here?
We recommend slowing down … not losing effectiveness but slowing down so you can go fast for the long haul.
If this idea seems unattainable, more like a dream for a future time … then let’s set up 30 minutes to chat. Let’s connect and talk it through.
Maybe investing in coaching this summer will be what you need to ready yourself for the fall while also enjoying the summer.
Slow dowwwnnn and give us a call.
Set up a time to chat.
