Guy Reams (00:00.536)
This is day 44, slow down to speed up. Have you ever been so sure about something that you acted before pausing to question it? I have, and more often than I'd like to admit, it's led me straight into frustration. One particular moment stands out, a lesson in slowing down that changed how I approach challenges forever.
Our team was struggling. We weren't closing enough of the proposals we sent to customers. The problem seemed clear to me. Pricing. I had this narrative in my head that we were losing business because our rates were too high. It felt so obvious. My gut reaction was to adjust pricing and push forward. Thankfully, I resisted that urge. Instead, we gathered the team together and decided to use a fishbone diagram to explore the problem thoroughly. What happened next surprised me.
I'd always heard about fishbone diagrams, but never had actually tried it. This fishbone diagram approach allowed us to discover the whole story. We started with a simple question, why aren't we closing proposals? Pricing, as it turns out, was part of the issue, but only a small part. As we mapped out the causes on the diagram, other factors came into focus. The quality of our first engagements with clients was not consistent.
Sometimes we were so eager to win the business that we skipped over truly understanding their needs. In our proposals, they lacked the customization that would make a client feel that we were actually solving their specific problem. These weren't things I would have noticed on my own. They came from the team, people with perspectives I had not considered. The process was humbling, but it was also liberating. By slowing down and allowing space for input,
I realized how much more complex the problem was than I had originally assumed. There is always a temptation to move fast. I get it. When we're faced with a problem, there's pressure to act. It's uncomfortable to sit with uncertainty to admit that you might not have the full picture. Moving fast feels like progress, even if it's misguided. But here's the thing. Rushing often means solving the wrong problem or creating even new ones.
Guy Reams (02:17.568)
I've seen teams pour weeks into solutions that didn't stick because they didn't take the time to understand what they were up against in the first place. I've been on those teams. It's frustrating and disheartening, and it eats away at trust and morale. There's a gift in learning how to slow down. The fishbone diagram was a gift because it forced me to slow down and approach the problem with a method. It demanded clarity and collaboration. Two things that aren't always easy when you're in a hurry.
By pausing, we not only solved the proposed issue, but also straightened our team's dynamic. We strengthened our team as well. Everyone felt heard. Everyone understood the actual problem. And together, we created solutions that we worked on together. We improved our client engagements, tailoring each interaction to their unique needs. We revised our proposals to make them specific and meaningful.
Yes, we tweaked pricing, but only after addressing the deeper issues that were undermining our original efforts. The result, there was a measurable improvement to our close rates and a team was more confident in the process. This is the harder path. Slowing down is never easy. It requires patience and humility. It means letting go of the idea that you know everything and embracing the power of I don't know yet. But when you do, something remarkable happens. You stop spinning your wheels.
You focus on what matters. You solve the real problem, not just the one that's easiest to see. If you're facing a challenge today, I encourage you to resist the urge to rush. Use a tool like the fishbone diagram or simply gather people together and start asking questions. Be curious, be deliberate. The time you invest now will save frustration later and might just lead you to a solution that's better than the one you have imagined.
because sometimes slowing down is actually the fastest way to succeed.