Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast

Why Strategic Discipline Accelerates Transformation

When leading transformation, the pressure to move fast is real. Markets shift. Boards expect results. Teams seek clarity. And leaders—understandably—want to demonstrate progress.

But here’s the tension: Speed without clarity is chaos

Design Principle: Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

Drawn from the Navy SEALs and embraced by high-performing teams across industries, this is more than just a catchy phrase, but one that reflects a deeper truth.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It’s a discipline. It’s a mindset. It’s about not rushing into doing the wrong things. It’s about the power of strategic thinking and deliberate action.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Means doing the hard work up front clarifying the mandate, aligning on purpose, building trust, and assembling the right team. So, when it’s time to act, you move as one. 

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Means resisting reactive urgency—pausing to understand facts, challenging assumptions, thinking well past the first good idea, and making better up-front decisions leading to going faster downstream.

Why?

Because when teams take the time to align early, execution becomes faster, cleaner, and more effective.

This isn’t about moving slowly—it’s about moving deliberately.

A Personal Example: Balancing Momentum and Readiness.

Early in our own transformation, I felt urge to act. We needed to move. That we should be moving faster. To validate effort with visible activity. But I knew that acting too soon—to not effectively balance that tension between momentum and readiness—would cost us down the line.

We paused. We asked the hard questions. We revisited our remit and revalidated focus to ensure alignment. That decision wasn’t easy—but it laid the foundation for cohesion and acceleration when it mattered most.

What This Looks Like in Practice

1. Readiness Beats Deadlines

Time-driven urgency leads to premature launches, rework, and eroded trust. Readiness-driven activity builds trust and momentum.

For example, Toyota’s production system slows the line to fix issues early—because catching problems upstream ensures speed and quality downstream. Likewise, SpaceX tests rigorously and fails fast in early phases—but those deliberate missteps are what enable breakthrough velocity later.

2. Empathy Enables Acceleration

Process doesn’t transform—people do.

As we explored in Lead with Empathy, people who feel seen, valued, and trusted drive results.

Zach Mercurio’s research on “mattering” confirms it: people who feel essential—not just included—perform better, burn out less, and stay longer.

3. Focus + Clarity = Velocity

As discussed in Focus and Remit, focus prevents distraction and aligns actions, and clarity is a force multiplier.

The military’s After-Action Review (AAR) reinforces this discipline: pausing to reflect builds the precision and shared learning needed for faster execution next time.

4. A False Sense of Urgency Is Worse Than No Sense of Urgency

Urgency without clarity is just noise—It exhausts people and becomes a distraction.

Real urgency is rooted in shared clarity and team readiness.

Jim Collins said it well: “First who, then what.” But even the right people need time to align before they act with impact.

Leadership: The Discipline to Hold the Line.

Disciplined doesn't just happen. It requires leadership.

The strongest leaders resist the temptation to move for movement’s sake. They have the courage to challenge assumptions and ask the hard questions. They also have the maturity to push back on artificial urgency.

They know that doing things right beats doing things fast.

Consider General Dwight D. Eisenhower delaying the D-Day invasion by 24 hours due to weather—because readiness mattered more than schedule. The stakes were enormous, but the delay was the right call—the outcome changed history.

Or consider Paul O’Neill at Alcoa, who made safety—not revenue—his first transformation priority. Many thought it was a stall. But it rebuilt trust, exposed culture, and laid the foundation for breakthrough performance.

The Bottom Line

Transformation isn’t just about what you do—It’s about how – and when – you do it.

Slowing down isn’t a delay. It’s an investment. In trust. In clarity. In alignment.

Those are the real accelerators.

Because when the moment comes, and your team is ready.

Slow is smooth. And smooth is fast.

Proven Across Time and Industry

• Alexander the Great led swift conquests—but only after careful planning, intelligence gathering, and troop alignment.
• Virginia Mason Medical Center transformed care using lean principles. Their mantra? “Go slow to go fast.” Early investment in training and systems now powers world-class efficiency.
• Apple is rarely first to market. But its deliberate product strategy—grounded in clarity and integration—drives category-defining innovation.

Our next Design Principle: Extreme Ownership

"There are no bad teams, only bad leaders"

—Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership

In my next article, we'll explore what it means to lead with full accountability—not just for performance, but for culture, clarity, and trust.

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The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School MIT Sloan School of Management Toyota Motor Corporation SpaceX