Where are you missing signals?
There is a new Restoration Hardware store in Atlanta and so the older, smaller location was closed this fall. However, when I walked past the old store in January, I noticed they had mail waiting for them.
Can you tell what’s on the doorstep?
It’s the massive Restoration Hardware catalog. Apparently, no one told the mail room the store was moving. This is a classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.
So close, and yet so far.
Still, to be fair, it’s easy to make similar mistakes. Speed is a funny thing.
When we move fast, speak in shorthand, and run ahead of others, we leave people behind and things are missed. On the flip side of the speed coin, when we stay with our routine and institutionalize our behavior, we lag behind, and then we miss where others are heading.
If you are like me, you probably do a little of both.
In either the too fast/too slow scenario, the solution is always found in communication - in checking assumptions, doubling back on plans, and evaluating how things work.
As tempting as it is to move at your individual pace, the easiest way to derail plans is to ignore how our actions are intertwined. So whether you’re planning a new product launch, putting your child on a new sleep schedule, or moving a store across town, think through who might be left behind.
Remember this video? Be the tortoise, not the hare.