(Go Slow to Go Fast is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.)

Go Slow to Go Fast

This saying made the list of annoying phrases not because it’s incorrect or even bad advice – often it’s great advice.

No, go slow to go fast is included because most every manager using it today doesn’t believe it and/or doesn’t practice it himself/herself. Go slow to go fast is a seemingly contradictory axiom; though similarly to “less is more,” when the saying is understood and followed, this advice can help your business reach its goals.

To be clear, go slow to go fast is not analogous to The Tortoise and the Hare. That fable refers to the value of determination and dedication over speed and shenanigans. Go slow to go fast can more correctly be compared to “look before you leap.”

However, its original and more precise meaning would be to ensure you have a clear strategy, a decent plan, a goal, and – in the case of a product or service launch – an addressable market before attacking something new.

In other words, proceeding cautiously is prudent and will help you achieve your goals faster than simply throwing a bunch of crap against the walls to see what sticks. Proceeding cautiously is not the same as analysis paralysis – you can and should make fast decisions, just be certain they’re based on data and support the overriding strategy.

Wait, this isn’t supposed to be a lesson on what the saying means or even how to apply it in your business, is it?

Our apologies, we digressed.

This was supposed to be an attack on those managers who drop go slow to go fast into virtually every strategy meeting. They do this, of course, because they think it makes them sound smart, sensible and thoughtful.

It does not. It makes them sound like the smug egomaniacs they are.

There, satisfied?

Replacement phrases: Plan; Have a strategy; Make your business case

See also: Analysis Paralysis

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The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room is available on Amazon