Why is it that the most important, most powerful, most effective methods, tools, or practices are also the most difficult? Answering that question might be a challenge to keep the philosophy professors busy for a good, long time.For now, accept your grandfather’s axiom that what is worth doing, is worth taking our time to do.
That axiom applies to business, process improvement, and product development.It takes time and effort to do something correctly, the first time.There is more.Not only can we be concerted in our effort to do right the first time, we can be deliberate in our efforts to prepare for future efforts, to make our upcoming efforts come out optimal.
Preparing for the future, setting up future success, requires an even deeper level of discipline.That discipline is simply patient planning.Unfortunately, business pressure often drives urgency and impatience, discouraging careful planning.It doesn’t change the fact that many times the best way to produce quickly, grow quickly, or develop quickly is to plan and design slowly.
It sounds philosophically counterintuitive when put into those words, and yet, intuitively we know it to be true.It is built into our favorite process improvement and product development methodologies because it is true.