Speed is everything (stop withholding to go fast)
Before this small business stuff, I was an engineer. It was my first job out of uni. Yes, I did work a bit when I studied, but this was a consistent pay cheque. After living on $30 per week for food, and my car flooding every time it rained, I was stoked to have some cash flow.
This job was a big step in starting to sort myself out.
Anyway, I worked with F-18’s doing crack repair design.
When you go on these jets, they are super ‘raw.’
There’s not even any paint. No leather trim. No fancy digital screens.
And the outside is plain grey.
They look cool, but you wouldn’t call them ‘beautiful’.
They’re built for speed.
For a few years, in one form or another, I’ve been interested in speed. Speed of Steve Jobs. Speed of clients I work with. My own speed, and sometimes, lack of speed. The basic ‘theory’ is that if you do more, produce more, and test more, you’ll figure things out faster.
I’ve seen clients 10X their business in two years.
And others not launch an offer in a year.
The difference is speed.
They get more ‘shipped’ in a given amount of time, they learn more, and they build a greater reputation.
I’ve found that speed may even be the most important ‘characteristic’ overall.
Speed allows you to test offers with your market.
Speed allows you to create a bold reputation.
Speed allows you to execute ideas faster.
Speed allows you to make more sales.
The other day I was talking with a sales manager for a local gym. He does 2-3 x more sales than any of the other managers in other chains. I asked him how? He said he just attacks his work. He’s not any smarter, he just has more speed.
Anyway, that’s enough yammering about the ‘why’.
And know - I haven’t mastered this. I've sat on things for years. I sat in a corporate job, miserable, for years, lying awake at night. I sat on a book I wrote for weeks, before I could send it to the publisher. I've sat on draft emails for too much too long, perhaps hundreds of times.
But each day, I get faster.
I started to hang around people who do things so fast that it blows your mind.
And now, I practice ‘speed’ as part of the work itself.
Where does ‘speed’ come from?
Over the years, I’ve looked back at why some are so stinking slow, and some move super-sonic.
And there seems to be no difference in ‘stress’ or ‘fatigue’.
I realised it’s not just about the effort, or ‘pressure’ we create, but also about the friction.
People who move quickly seem to have less mental friction slowing them down.
In the book - "15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership."
Here’s one thing they said:
97% of people admit to outright lying.
But this isn’t nearly as big of a problem as “withholding.”
Most firms and leaders withhold.
Withholding is refraining from revealing the relevant facts.
We’ve been programmed to withhold and/or lie. We are afraid, so we withhold.
But this makes us slow.
Now, it’s generally accepted that withholding is from fear.
So the question is, what are you afraid of?
Most people are afraid because they are uncomfortable with their truth, or who they actually are.
So they withhold in their training.
They withhold in their relationships.
They withhold in their work.
So, to build speed in your business, and cut over-thinking, we attack this withholding stuff thing right at the jugular.
If this resonates with you, you know it’s going to take time to internalise this.
Nonetheless - here are some prompts that can help you build speed in your business, by cutting with-holding:
Where in my life:
Am I overthinking?
Am I withholding?
Am I doubting
Write out some ideas. When we start to see where you are withholding in one area of life, we also start to see where we’re withholding in another area. The dynamic is the same.
Where can I bring out:
My truth?
My transparency?
My honesty?
Where in your life can you bring out more? Where can you amplify your nuances, or your personal characteristics?
With-holding creates a tone of problems, because it is a bottleneck for speed. It creates back and forth conversations in the mind. It creates lethargy, and doubt.
But when we practice candor, or destroying ‘withholding’ as much as possible, we get faster in our work.
We build speed.
And speed is one of the big keys to business growth.
Want more help with your productivity?
Grab our CEO Hour Framework.
This is a short PDF with three sections to help you plan the week ahead. You can fill it out any time, but we find it’s best when you do it on a Sunday, or Monday, to map out the week ahead.
Become clear, energised and organised for the week ahead, then ruthlessly execute with no holding back
Click below to download.