A friend gave me a watch as a 28th birthday gift. In place of numbers, the hours were marked with the letters, Festina Lente. Make Haste Slowly. One of the saying’s early uses was as the motto of Caesar Augustus, who brought peace, infrastructure and philanthropy to Rome.
At 28, I was wired but tired—I had the making haste part of my career nailed. I did not realize that an entrepreneurial “sense of urgency” is not the same as frenzied activity. A true sense of urgency combines action with diligence. That’s Festina Lente.
The watch and its lessons of have stayed with me through my career. If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you can also benefit from making haste slowly.
- Big project, looming deadline // You promised a prospect or partner a proposal “within the next few days,” and those days are slipping by. Or your business just landed a major customer and now you and your team must deliver on expectations. If you’re in a sales role, it’s a fast-approaching monthly or quarterly sales quota.
- Multiple decisions, multiple consequences // These are the decision crossroads that business owners face, such as changing an essential service provider, hiring or firing a key team member or figuring out which of several options will grow your company.
- Too many to-dos // Long lists of pending tasks can leave you making quick decisions just to get tasks off your plate. Maybe the decisions you make are good ones … and maybe not.
Developing Festina Lente
Making haste slowly ensures that your actions result in your intended level of performance. Here’s how to incorporate it into your business activities.
- Investigate // Info-gathering is taking action, although sometimes it doesn’t seem like it. Ask questions, get information and make notes of your initial, messy thoughts in a logbook or on a device. Getting your investigations out of your head first makes good decision-making easier.
- Pace your actions by the calendar // Getting through your daily to-do list is not a reality television elimination. Use the calendar for scheduling specific days for specific steps of your decision or project, then develop your daily to-do list by setting time limits for completing specific tasks. If you promised a proposal for a major prospect for Friday, spend an hour on Tuesday morning investigating current margins on your pricing and possible pricing for your prospect. In the late afternoon, spend 30 minutes outlining terms for the pricing options. Take a break or leave Wednesday morning for finalizing the decision.
- Sleep on it // Sleeping on an unprepared, procrastinated decision is stressful. Sleeping on options you’ve investigated is can bring new insights to your decision. Whether you rest overnight, take a walk or choose a non-work relaxing activity, take a break before you review and act on your decision.
If you’re wired but tired, it may be time to Make Haste, Slowly.
