Is There A Place For Patience?

Posted on Jun 16, 2010 | 0 comments

We live in a “right here – right now” society. This should come as a surprise. All one has to do is to step back and look at the telltale signs that surround us. In life, we want everything fast and then faster. We want news fast. The news media fights to be the first to break a story. Or pity on you if you aren’t Mario Andretti (name your own race car driver) while driving. It will only take about three-tenths of a second before the person stopped behind you at a stoplight beeps their horn to get you moving on a green light.

A similar trend exists on the business front. We look to minimize cycle times to produce as many widgets as fast as possible. Designs are rushed through launch in order to claim the “first to market” tag. Let’s see who will be the first to release a computer with a 5TB hard drive or a phone with a 12MP camera. Everything is about now. It’s all about speed.

We see this in the business systems that exist within companies. The focus is always about reducing steps, eliminating workers, lowering cycle time, and automating systems so that they produce more at a faster rate. The goal of achieving these objectives is fine. What can be concerning is the approach in which we take to accomplish these ends.

Unfortunately, lost in our push for speed is the notion of patience. Most people think of slow when the word patience is said. Yet speed and patience do not have to be mutually exclusive. You can be patient and fast at the same time. Fast involves moving at an accelerated pace whereas patience invokes an enduring perseverance, a quiet diligence, and an unmatched exactness for accomplishing one’s goals.

The key is to understand how the two work together in your own situation. The norm in this society is about being fast in the absence of patience. You have to ask yourself if you are going to follow the norm or look to find a place for patience in your endeavors.