When Speed Is All about Slowing Down
January 18th, 2007 by Jeb Foster
Selling insurance requires some hustle. Prospects don’t pick up the phone to call you. They don’t knock on your door or flood your inbox with requests for quotes. You’ve got to pound the pavement–both literally and figuratively–to stay afloat.
Knowledge of this can bring a helpful sense of urgency to your day, but it can also turn you into a frantic, overzealous loon like Bob Torkington of Red Shoe Insurance. (If you’re not familiar with Mr. Torkington’s antics, check out the most recent Agent Blog Wrap Up. It’s shocking.)
In a post over at Fast Company Magazine’s blog, professional executive coach Doug Sundheim reminds us of a very important distinction: “rushing vs. moving quickly.” The latter is of course preferable, but often we find ourselves running around like decapitated chickens, with the vague hope that our mere movement will magically get things done. According to Sundheim, “Rushing undermines critical thinking, dialogue, and learning processes. If unchecked for too long, it significantly decreases individual and organizational capacity to make smart decisions. It becomes OK not to think things through.”
In short, rushing is no time saver (unless you’re in a hurry to make poor decisions that will cost you time and money down the road). Sundheim suggests stopping to ask yourself a few questions when you find yourself in a frenzied rush. After you’ve taken a couple deep breaths, “Get clear on whether the rushing is necessary (or even smart). If it isn’t, slow down.” What if it is necessary? “Reassess and renegotiate timelines if needed,” writes Sundheim.
This isn’t rocket science, and you’ve probably heard this adivce before, but it works. The key is to have the self-awareness to know when you might be pulling a Bob Torkington. The second thing, which Sundheim alludes to in the end of his post, is to have a strategy for slowing yourself down. For some, it might be taking a brief walk, for others, watering the plants or raking a Zen garden thingy.
