Last week at the Seattle Interactive Conference, Cal McAllister, co-founder of Wexley School For Girls, gave an inspiring presentation on his agency. One of his agency’s tenets was a very simple one: “Slow Down.” In other words, don’t rush ideas out into the world until they’re ready.
Great advice, but hard to implement. Because everything these days is so ridiculously fast-paced, and whether it’s from our co-workers or from brands, we expect instant responses and instant gratification.
When the speed of life and business speeds up, we lose our patience with everything. My handwriting was never particularly clear, but now it’s pretty much illegible. Why? Because my mind is now several steps ahead of my wrist: I’m obsessed with finishing the writing motions as quickly as possible. I’m in a rush to get on to my next task.
Is there any stopping this increased frenetic pace? Even new marketing principles reflect this. It’s now a common refrain for marketing gurus to say, “Just get it out there and perfect it later,” particularly when it comes to digital initiatives. But the wrong idea, or an unfinished one disseminated too quickly, can backfire on a brand.
It’s the subject of my new column on TalentZoo.com, which will be on the home page Thursday.
Nice article, Dan. There’s a lot to be said for the slow lane.