This weekend in the US we have some of the biggest events tied to speed going on…the F1 Grand Prix in Miami and The Kentucky Derby, along with NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway and IndyCar revving up in Birmingham. Heck there is even Grand Slam Track setting down in Miami as well, so the need for speed seems to be everywhere.
I raise this off of some conversations this past week I have had with job seekers, job changers and the like who asked about the need to stay up to date on what’s going on, and the speed at which you may miss something if you are not watching.
While I believe that the only thing we actually have that is ours is time…the way we manage and use every minute of the 24 hours we have, I also believe that, like the best runners, the best drivers, the best jockeys, you have to also be able to adjust your speed to the circumstances around you to be successful, especially if you are interested in or doing the work for oneself, taking the multiple projects route that so many seem to be favoring these days in a fluid, and somewhat unpredictable work environment.
Like any good driver, adjusting speeds to the conditions…and sometimes its how quickly a project comes together, a media property can be assembled, funds can be raised, teams can be built, contracts can be done…is really, really important. You also have to be able to adjust to “The speed of culture.”
Being a native New Yorker, I want to get things done to seize what I think are the critical windows in time. However, dealing with brands, individuals, properties, around the globe on a weekly basis, you come to realize that the speed with which you want to move may not match the timing of how things come together. Sometimes it’s hurry up and wait, because different priorities are involved or a news cycle isn’t right, sometimes it’s “let’s go now” because of the stars, and the timing and the opportunity arrives. The hitting the gas, or hitting the brakes, is a skill that the best leaders, like the best drivers, have to acquire over time, and hopefully it comes with few accidents.
Now being able to move at the speed of the culture and the business environment does not mean that you just stop preparing. Drivers and jockeys and athletes don’t just show up, jump in or on and go right? The prep should assume things are happening quickly. The information gathered, the strategy implemented, the conversations had, the media plan and outreach connections for the best storytellers and strategists can be done whether the news is of the day or the month or even the year. Once its all in place it is much easier to shift down or lower the boil than it is to move forward quickly. Countless rewrites, updating lists, following up with conversations can all take place depending on the speed with which you need to work.
Doing all the prep sometimes can be challenging though. Going back to ‘The Speed of Culture,” in today’s world that usually means moving and adjusting at light speed. If we don’t act on a trend we miss the window. While today we should be thinking about culture differently and mobilizing in a new way and being aware of what is relevant, that doesn’t mean we need to act at the time if we are not ready to. Cultural voltage can be very strong and loud as an amplifier, but we have to decide if the timing is right with the leaders making the news or telling the story, and the message is correct and the power is proper for the place in time. Entering at too fast a speed can also lead to a crash, despite the best intentions, and that pause, to think, listen and watch, can be just as important as stepping on the cultural gas pedal.
All that being said, adjusting to speed and getting to a safe travel ride in storytelling is also key. We rush for perfection and quickness, but we have to decide as things play out if we can enter a conversation, break a story, amplify a moment, without every possible tool working to make it totally pristine. While making sure key components are in place and asking questions are very important…do we have a social strategy aligned, are stakeholders aware, are there no surprises to partners when this breaks…we rarely get it totally right, and frankly, sometimes we get a bit lucky with timing beyond our control, and things break well that we didn’t see. However, as John Milton said, and the Hall of Famer Branch Rickey often gets credit for:
‘Luck is the Residue of Design.”
In short, we win the race if we do the prep to get there, and sometimes that prep is slow, tedious, and repetitive, but it makes us ready to take the flag at the end. Also let’s not forget if we sometimes concentrate on just the speed, we miss the nuances along the way that are essential to winning the race.
For me personally, going slow or downshifting is not easy all the time, but having seen what happens with crashes, physically and metaphorically, if you go too fast and seek the buzz more than the substance, it is important to go at a safer speed to accelerate up than it is to just hit the emotional gas to capture a moment when the equipment is not properly aligned.
You pass lots of wrecks on the road because of distractions and the lack of attention to detail than you do if you are not ready for the ride.
Ok enough on the racing metaphors, hopefully you get the point. Adjust the speed, kick the tires, ask the questions, have all the elements in place and drive away on the project, the story, the opportunity. It sometimes means we don’t get to the destination as fast as we want, but the ability to shift gears and explain the change usually means a smother and successful ride.
Let’s go.
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