Have you noticed this obsession with speed? Everyone is doing things, real fast. Even failure has to be fast. Fail fast is the new mantra. Christopher S. Penn takes up this point, ‘Ever done this? You see a traffic jam ahead, get off at the next exit, and spend 30 extra minutes on side and back roads to go around the jam… which in reality is only a 10 minute traffic jam? This is the dabbler. This is the person who fails too fast.’ Do you fail too fast?
The Dunning-Kruger Effect
Chris Penn discussed the Dunning-Kruger effect where:
- Incompetent people are so limited by their abilities and lack of competence that they don’t realize they’re incompetent.
- Competent are the last to get the memo.
- When it comes to goal-only perspectives… your lack of meta-cognitive awareness about your limitations means that if you give up all the time, if you abandon ship too fast, you will NEVER reach excellence.
Do you see what he’s getting at?
How To Fail Slowly
Here’s my thoughts:
- Speed is sickness.
- I lived in the US for eight years. I felt guilty if I wasn’t doing something, always on the go.
- But some things can’t be rushed, like trust, friendship, and appreciation. You can’t enjoy Mozart in a rush.
- Today I live in China. It’s just as busy. But, here’s the difference. The expectation here is that certain things have to be done slowly.
- Ever been to a dinner with Chinese-business men? There’s a reason it lasts 4 or 5 hours. They want to see who really you are… after you’ve had a few drinks and loosened up.
- Like another person said on Chris Brogan’s site, the golden mean in everything, i.e. balance.
Many people are driving 100 mph down an alleyway. Sometimes it’s good to pause for a moment.
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