Fasterfasterfasterfasterfasterfasterfaster

"It's not the big that eats the small, it's the fast that eat the slow," my ex-SVP once told me. "You have to be faster than your competitors."

Being faster doesn't mean out of breath faster. It means being smarter.

"Sales is not a sprint, it is a marathon" A top insurance trainer was overhead saying. We aren't interested in premature ejaculators that managed a single brief burst of speed. The goal is to achieve speed and maintain velocity.

Here's my take on this: in order for decisions to be fast and correct, they should be made as close to the action as possible. If it's a sales issue, the decision should be made by the sales person/sales manager.

We should hire the best people and then get out of their way. The worst thing we could do is to micromanage them. We hire entrepreneurs and let them do their own thinking. I like to empower my managers to make decisions and support them. Sometimes a wrong decision may be made. It's ok to make mistakes - but don't repeat them.