Work Fast, But Towards What?
One essay I like a lot is called Speed Matters.
Its author, James Somers, uses the piece to argue that you should work fast, and that working fast begets more working fast. If you learn to write 1,000 words in 30 minutes, then writing becomes a trivial task and you will do it more often. If you tell yourself that writing 1,000 words should take all day, you will write less.
This argument might be missing one important point, though: fast towards what?
Ideas like Somers’ are overwhelmingly popular, at least in the technology and startup world. Mark Zuckerberg’s “Move fast and break things” became a famous mantra. The Lean Startup sold over a million copies. Read almost any job description from a startup and you will see some version of: we ship fast. The concept of agency is trendy now, along with its catchphrase you can just do things. Paul Graham’s essay, Founder Mode, advocates for a fast-moving, hands-on approach to running a company. Move fast!
This is certainly useful advice for some people at some times. And there’s a reason I like the Speed Matters essay. But sometimes I wonder if we are too obsessed with speed-to-something as opposed to speed-to-the-outcomes-we-actually-care-about.
I don’t doubt that working fast is probably good once you understand the problem and are calibrated on the direction to pursue. It’s that upfront work, though, which I think may be underrated by many people.
It doesn’t have to take a long time to figure out what speed means in any particular context. It could take just a few minutes, and it could potentially help you get to your outcome much faster.
A few examples:
- You can write 1,000 words a day. But aimlessly writing (I just need to write!) may be less productive than spending upfront time deciding why you want to write and what kind of writing might actually help you satisfy that motivation.
- Hiring fast is common. “We need to fill this role!” Consider, though, that making the wrong hire may slow the company down far more than taking as long as you need to find someone great.
- It is now easier than ever to build new software (see something like Lovable). Before building and shipping something because it sounded cool for a couple of minutes, though, you may want to ask—why?
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It is sometimes shocking how little thought people put into big career decisions, like which company to join or whether joining a company is even the right decision. Before you move fast and say “yes” to something, it may be worth asking: what does this move me towards?
- You can do squats every morning. But learning the proper technique to actually do the squats may help you reach your outcome (stronger legs?) much faster.
Working fast is great. My (Jordan’s) favorite movie is Fast and Furious, for God’s sake. It is perhaps worth considering, though, what speed means—and what you should really be working towards.
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