71. About Speed, Agility and Urgency

WE LIVE IN A CONTEXT where speed is a valuable attribute.

That’s very good. It’s a very commendable thing to be fast.

To be fast, in the context of digital products, in addition to moving fast, it is necessary to be light in weight and, above all, to plan the speed, distance and goal.

Urgency isn’t speed, it’s lack of planning.

Speed — Planning = Urgency

The urgency not only stresses the organization, but also lacerates the relationships between employees and suppliers, as well as raises doubts about the existence of a plan, a vision, a purpose.

Agility is the ability to adapt to the context without the organization suffering. Agility doesn’t necessarily imply speed. This is because speed is relative to the market and the competition. Organizations can be rigid and fast, or agile and slow because their context doesn’t necessarily reward speed.

In conclusion, agility and speed are qualities that we may or may not have, but they are sustainable, just as organizations can set goals to gradually become more agile and faster.

Urgency is not sustainable, and should not be encouraged by organizations, since it undermines the very sustenance of speed. Organizations that reward urgency will quickly stop being fast.

How do we distinguish between speed and urgency?

• The speed is predictable, while the urgency takes us by surprise.
• Urgency changes priorities, undoes plans, postpones what is important.
• At the end, speed makes us feel like we’ve accomplished something, urgency makes us feel like we’ve gotten something off our backs.
• Speed takes work, talent, and planning.
  - Urgency requires none of that.