“We’ll research that issue later this week,” someone on my team said about a problem that required attention.
I stopped them immediately.
What seemed like a minor delay would actually mean clients wouldn’t receive the nevcessary information for a few extra days.
This isn’t about being impatient. It’s about understanding consequences.
Every small delay creates ripple effects. Each postponed decision compounds. The cost of waiting is rarely visible until it’s too late to recover.
Thomas Keller, creator of Per Se (one of the world’s finest restaurants), demands “a sense of urgency” from his kitchens. Not frantic energy. Not rushing. But purposeful, deliberate action, understanding that timing matters.
Too many leaders confuse thoughtfulness with delay. They disguise procrastination as careful consideration. They mistake waiting for wisdom.
Start the clock.
Don’t waste days being indecisive about vendor selection. Don’t add weeks by slow-walking approvals. Don’t postpone difficult conversations, as they only become more challenging with time.
The Latin phrase “Festina Lente” captures this perfectly: make haste slowly. Move with purpose but without panic—urgency with control.
The projects that flounder rarely fail suddenly. They erode gradually through accumulated minor delays that nobody noticed until the deadline loomed as impossible.
The military puts it this way: slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Your leadership philosophy must address time. Customers feel it when urgency is missing. Teams sense it when deadlines lack consequences. Markets punish it when competitors move faster.
Every day you postpone starting is a day you’ll never get back. Every “we’ll handle that tomorrow” is stealing an opportunity from your future.
What can you start right now? What clock needs to begin ticking today?
