I’m writing this from Nairobi, Kenya.
In my hotel room, the body lotion mounted on the bathroom wall looks like this:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
This proverb admittedly irritates me (and not just because it’s on body lotion)! Our first meeting this morning reminded me why.
To open the session, the facilitators showed us a video of an F1 pit stop.
If you’ve ever seen an F1 pit stop (the record for which is under two seconds, by the way), you might share my irritation with the proverb. Because I can assure you, those mechanics did not achieve that record by working alone.
Going fast requires going together.
The challenge is creating the conditions under which collaboration increases speed.
We’ve all experienced the opposite — collaboration does not automatically accelerate performance — but it’s a prerequisite for it in any contexts where complex challenges are being addressed in ways that require collective intelligence and sustained buy-in.
It’s what’s brought me back to Africa. In my home context, we optimize for speed. My colleagues here have much to teach me about prioritizing relationships. I hope we can work together to figure out how to optimize for both. It’s time to go both fast and far.