Direction Vs. Speed

If you were asked to pick between Direction and Speed as one attribute of your life or business to succeed, which would you choose?

This was a question I asked a group recently and the vast majority chose speed. They simply want to succeed quickly.

A lot of people are captivated by societal values of success, which in many situations could be termed  ‘foolishness’.  The word foolishness has several meanings, such as a lack of maturity, a lack of wisdom, or a tendency to rebel against rules. Unfortunately, life is built on rules - if you obey them you succeed, and if you don’t you suffer.  

For example, if you are caught committing a crime, the police won’t let you get away with it.  And when you fail to pay monthly rentals on your vehicle loan, the bank would not let you keep the car.

  

If I may relate the topic to a business, the convention is that you need both Direction together with constant Speed to succeed. The truth though is that without going in the right direction, speed does not matter, and in fact could be damaging to the business. Speed only gives a business competitive edge when all involved understand the vision and are working in the same direction.

In life, living and even in business as an entrepreneur, more important than Speed (who gets there first) is Direction (knowing where one is going).

Therefore, it is important to slow down and constantly review ones plans, choices and decisions in a bid to ensuring you are in the right direction as against speeding through life and I dare say business breaking rules in pursuit of success. You may be simply Speeding in the wrong Direction to failure.