GetIllustrations for Unsplash+
I’ve always been one to move fast. I drive fast. I walk fast. I eat fast. I’ve been told I talk too fast.
I’ve also been told I make decisions too fast and execute them too fast. For years I let that land as a criticism, as if speed meant sloppy or careless.
It’s not. Speed is my edge.
What Speed Built
When it was time to exit my business, I told my partner days later.
When I landed on the Chief of Staff role, I tore through books and hired a coach within weeks.
Even this newsletter started that way. I didn’t wait for a polished plan. I launched Right Hand Chief (now Brief) before I knew exactly where it was going. Thirty weeks later, I’ve kept pace while learning and improving as I went.
None of that came from weighing every angle. It came from making a move and learning from the feedback.
Why Speed Gets Misunderstood
Speed gets a bad rap. People assume fast means sloppy, careless or reckless. Teams often push back because a quick pace feels uncomfortable or they don’t want to make a mistake.
But speed is an advantage. Moving fast creates momentum, generates excitement, and surfaces reality with real-time information.
We were taught “slow and steady wins the race.” But the hare didn’t lose because he was fast. He lost because he fell asleep under a tree. The real lesson is don’t nap.
Today’s version looks different: the rabbit surveys the landscape, makes a few false starts, then uses that feedback to win the race, sign up for the next one and start training before the tortoise hits halfway.
For Chiefs of Staff, the job is to understand the principal’s speed and help the team match pace while reframing speed as an advantage, not a threat.
Bias Towards Action
Entrepreneur Bill Perkins calls it a “bias toward action.” By the time others finish debating, he’s already tried three things, made three mistakes and found a better path forward.
Codie Sanchez puts it similarly: the greatest muscle you can build is urgency. In her companies, the “24-hour rule” applies. If an idea has merit, they move within a day. Not because every idea is brilliant, but because speed forces progress.
Jack Welsh ran GE with the same principle. His bet in 1981 was simple: faster decisions, faster problem-solving, and faster information flow would create a competitive edge. Two decades later, GE’s market value had grown nearly 30x.
Different voices, same conclusion: action beats analysis. Disciplined micro-moves surface truth faster than waiting for the perfect plan ever could.
The Chief’s Lens: When Speed Wins
As Chief, your job is to translate speed into momentum, without mayhem. That means knowing when fast is the right move and showing others how to harness it.
A few ways to think about it:
Reversible vs irreversible. If the decision can be undone, move it forward. Save long deliberation for the few moves you can’t take back.
Test over talk. Not every idea needs a meeting, it needs data. Run the pilot, draft the memo and make the call. Bring results, not hypotheticals.
Bias the calendar. Don’t park it until “next week’s agenda.” Call now, ship now and share now. A 5-minute huddle beats a 50-minute meeting next week.
Think like an founder. The bottom line moves every hour. Each moment creates value or erodes it. Delay isn’t neutral, it’s costly.
Encourage one concrete step forward before the thinking spirals again: call an expert for five minutes, sketch the decision tree, or send a one-paragraph summary. It’s easier to refine something in motion than something stuck in a leader’s head.
Speed vs. Recklessness
Of course, speed has a shadow side. Move too fast and you risk whiplash. But my point isn’t speed at all costs. It’s speed with intention. As Chief, your role is to spot when fast iteration creates clarity and when the stakes call for slowing down.
The default should be action. The exception should be pause.
Thinking has its place, but thinking doesn’t build. Action does.
As Chief, your advantage is knowing this truth. You can bias your principal and team toward action and turn momentum into strategy.
Too fast? Good.
Affiliate Link Disclaimer: Some of the links in this email are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.