Speed Kills: A Return to Critical Thinking

The  most  important  thing  about  a  point  of  view  is  to  have  one.  

I  started  a7ending  business  conferences  nearly  twenty  five  years  ago  thanks  to  employers  like  Deloi7e  &  Touche  and  Price  Waterhouse.   EnthusiasBcally   I   went   to   learn   (the   free   lunches  were   cool   too).   I   remember   the   themes   and  topics  were  very  specific  and  tangible  back  then.    When  I  started  to  speak  at  events  a  few  years  later  it  was  for  never  less  than  an  hour  and  oEen  speaking  slots  were  ninety   minutes.   Conferences   were   mini-­‐MBAs.   Involved,   complex   case   studies   were   the   norm   and   popular.  Conferences  have  evolved  in  style  and  content.      When  a  colleague  found  out  I  was  presenBng  at  the  Canadian  MarkeBng  AssociaBon’s  NaBonal  ConvenBon  she  asked  if  I  was  going  to  deliver  it  TED  Talks-­‐style.  I  had  not  thought  about  it  that  way.  I  have  spoken  at  many  events  and  have  had  only  one  enduring  rule  of  thumb.  That  is,  present  what  you  would  like  to  hear.  Much  like  the  axiom  in  publishing  that  goes  ‘write  the  book  you  want  to  read’.    I  was   familiar  with  TED.   I   knew  the   talks  were  slick,  brief  and  premised  on  storytelling  but   I  decided   to  dig  a   li7le  deeper   into   their   format.   I   came   across   a   fascinaBng   debate   concerning   the   value   and   efficacy   of   TED.   The  organizaBon  is  a  bigger  machine  than  I  realized.  TED  was  founded  thirty  years  ago  as  a  progressive  conference  and  has  expanded  exponenBally   thanks   to   its  different  TEDGlobal  and  TEDx  events,  online  videos,  a  publishing  division  and  the  TED  radio  hour.    TED  holds  over  1,000  events  a  year  and  more  than  1,700  TED  talks  are  available  free  online.  An  army  of  volunteers  translates  each  one  into  104  different  languages.  By  January  2009,  these  had  been  viewed  50  million  Bmes.  In  2011,  that  number  reached  500  million.  Views  have  now  surpassed  two  billion.    

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Ideas   Worth   Spreading   indeed.   The   pace   of   consumpBon   of  TED   content   is   acceleraBng   and   I   am   a   fan.   Chris   Anderson,  curator  of  TED,  wrote  a  piece   in  Harvard  Business  Review   last  year  called  Giving  a  Killer  Presenta5on.   I  wrote  a   le7er  to  the  editor  in  support  of  what  Chris  emphasized  and  the  le7er  was  published  in  the  magazine.      InfluenBal   organizaBons   oEen   draw   criBcism   and   TED   is   no  excepBon.   TED   conferences   are   seen   to   be   eliBst   given   the  substanBal   price   tag   to   a7end   and   organizers   have   been  accused  of  picking  only  popular  and  less  controversial  topics.    The  most   fascinaBng   and   consistently   leveled   criBcism   is   TED  demands   narraBve   elegance   over   substance   and   rigorous  analysis.   The   Huffington   Post   wrote   that   “Every   slide,   every  sentence,  has  been  rehearsed  and  revised  to  such  a  point  that  no   room   is   leE   over   for   spontaneity   and  wit.”   The   New   York  Times   reported,   “The   process   of   preparing   a   speaker   is  painstaking.  Mr.  Anderson  and  his  team  work  for  months  with  presenters.”    You   really   know   you   are   onto   something   when   someone  parodies  you.   In  2012,  the  saBrical  newsmagazine,  The  Onion,  began   Onion   Talks.The   parody   presentaBons   included   Ducks  Go  Quack,  Chickens  Say  Cluck,  What  is  the  Biggest  Rock?,  Using  Social  Media  To  Cover  For  Lack  Of  Original  Thought,  Compost-­‐Fueled  Cars:  Wouldn't  That  Be  Great?,  and  A  Future  Where  All  Robots  have  Penises.      Then   late   last   year,   this   should   come   as   no   surprise,   a   TEDx  speaker   used   the   forum   itself   to   bash   TED.   TEDx’s   are   locally  licensed   conferences   and   this   one   took   place   in   San   Diego.  Benjamin   Bra7on,   a   visual   art   professor   at   the   University   of  California   said   that   instead   of   promoBng   his   own   ideas   or   a  book  that  he   instead  wanted  to  address  "TED   itself,  what   it   is  and  why  it  doesn't  work."    He   told   the   audience   that   the   TED   process   simplifies   difficult  topics   so   lay  people   can  understand   them  and   that  presenter  likability  outshines  the  ideas  themselves,  "making  our  best  and  brightest  waste  their  Bme—and  the  audience's  Bme—dancing  like  infomercial  hosts.”  Bra7on  himself  seems  to  know  a  good  sound   bite   as   he   called   TED,   “Middlebrow   Megachurch  Infotainment”.  

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Making  a  Decision  I   share   it   is   because   I   love   the   debate.   I   enjoy   looking   at   issues   from   different   views   and   angles.   TED   under   the  microscope  speaks  to  an  ever  acceleraBng  cycle  of  change.  TED  changed  how  ideas  were  shared  by  quesBoning  the  long  accepted  conference  model.  Now  the  TED  model  is  being  tested.  This  leads  to  the  subject  of  speed  and  criBcal  thinking.  Implied  in  criBcal  thinking  is  the  ability  to  make  a  decision.  So  ask  yourself,  how  do  you  make  a  decision?      Highly  raBonal  people  may  be  saying,  “Well  I  consider  the  informaBon  available  to  me,  weigh  the  respecBve  pros  and  cons,   judge   the   potenBal   impacts   and   arrive   at   the   best   possible   outcome.”   But   do   you   really?   Others   may   be  chuckling  while  thinking  of  their  own  personal  irraBonality  when  it  comes  to  making  a  decision.  While  more  sBll  are  probably  admipng  that  they  never  really  thought  much  about  it.  We  all  just  do  it.    The   most   honest   answer   to   how   we   make   decisions   is   it   depends.   We   make   decisions   differently   based   on   our  experiences,  background  and  biases  we  develop.  We  are  also   influenced  by   context.   The  very  pressure   to  make  a  decision  effects  how  we  decide.  The  fact  that  we  missed  our  morning  coffee  can  throw  us  off.  A  fight  with  our  spouse  can  distract  us.  A  jerk  at  work  gets  under  our  skin  and  disrupts  us.  So  much  goes  into  even  the  most  basic  decision.  Increasingly  we  are  confronted  with  speed  as  a  big  factor  that  impacts  the  manner  and  quality  of  our  decisions.  

I  will  concede  the  world  and  business  move  faster  now.  You  only  have  to  read  two  or  three  of  the  over  three  hundred  books  published  on  speed  in  the   last   few   years   or   the   scores   of   blogs   and   arBcles   to   buy   into   that.  These  writers  argue  that  speed  is  a  compeBBve  advantage  in  business  and  advocate   we   should   move   ever   faster.   I   am   not   wriBng   about   faster  decisions   or   slower   decisions.   I   am   sharing   the   creaBng   condiBons   for  making  be7er  decisions  by  pupng  speed  in  context.    Something   happened   in   the   last   ten   to   fiEeen   years.   “Speed”   itself  became  a  business  buzzword.  Faster  is  now  clearly  associated  with  be7er  and  that   is  some  of   the  most  flawed  thinking  of   recent  Bmes.  There  are  two  reasons  for  this.  The  first  takes  place  in  our  daily  lives.      Sheena  Iyengar  of  Columbia  University  and  author  of  The  Art  of  Choosing  found  that  we  make  an  average  of  70  decisions  each  day.  They  range  from  the  mundane  such  as  ‘what  should  I  wear  today?’  to  bigger  bets  like  ‘what  would   happen   if  we   doubled   our  media   spend?’   Decisions   are   done   on  autopilot  and  some  nearly  paralyze  in  their  importance  and  complexity.    

In  the  past  ten  to  fiEeen  years,  

“speed”  became  a  business  buzzword.  

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Think   of   your   mind   as   an   assembly   line.   It   has   been   set   up   to   process   informaBon   and   make   decisions   at   a  manageable  speed  and  generally   it  does  so  well.  Now   imagine   if   that  producBon   line  was  doubled   in  speed.  What  happens?  You  end  up  with  poorer  quality  decisions  in  every  meaning  of  that  word.  It  can  even  lead  to  breakage  or  shut  down.    According  to  a  2013  IBM  study  of  1,500  chief  execuBves,  complexity  and  speed  were  the  biggest  issues  facing  their  companies.   The   interesBng   thing   is   how   businesses   react   to   them.   First,   we   try   to   address   complexity   by  oversimplifying.      Everything  today  is  a  tagline,  a  thirty-­‐second  elevator  pitch  or  a  top-­‐ten  list.  We  are  spoon  fed  soluBons.  Every  book  is  a  how-­‐to.  Newspapers  are  dumbed  down.  We  converse   in  abrupt  text  and  tweets.  So  much  of  our  current  work   is  spent   embracing   client   complexity   and   creaBng   rich   brand   stories   and  markeBng   campaigns   for   them.   I   advocate  celebraBng  complexity  not  tearing  it  down  to  the  point  of  irrelevance.  

The   second   way   we   have   reacted   to   speed   and   complexity   is   by   pupng   ourselves   on   a   treadmill   to   oblivion   by  matching  speed  with  even  more  speed.  The  result  is  we  have  confused  simple  and  faster  with  be7er.  Further  we  now  have  the  gall  to  suggest  that  simple  and  faster  is  the  only  form  of  innovaBon.  Every  businesses’  website,  markeBng  pieces,  ads,  annual  reports  claims  that  they  are  innovaBve.  When  you  look  closer  they  are  really  claiming  that  they  are  the  simpler  and  faster  opBon.    Every  business   is   in   the  business  of   solving  problems.  That  means   they  assess  and  make  very   important  decisions.  Swystun   CommunicaBons   surveyed   3,000   markeBng   people   on   LinkedIn   about   decision-­‐making.   We   asked   three  quesBons  and  1,769  people  responded.  

What  impacts  the  quality  of  your  decision-­‐making?  

Pressure  24%  

Urgency  19%  

Lack  of  Time  26%  

Team  Mates  12%  

Other  10%  

Inputs  9%  

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The  first  quesBon,  what  impacts  the  quality  of  your  decision-­‐making?  Speed  related  issues  dominated  the  responses  adding   up   to   67%.   There  was   a   secondary   story   in   the   responses   related   to   teammates   or   colleagues.   Comments  indicated   fricBon   in   company   culture   and   the   organizaBon.   Colleagues  would   oEen   undermine   each   other   to   get  ahead.  The  next  quesBon  was,  what  does  your  company  value  most  in  decision-­‐making?  

Speed  is  a  significant  factor  which  is  really  no  surprise  but  what  is  perplexing  is  other  answers  with  near  equal  weight.  Safe  decisions  and  accurate  decisions  appear  to  contradict  speed.  It  is  as  if  the  respondent’s  organizaBons  are  telling  these  markeBng  folks  to  act  quickly  but  don’t  rock  the  boat.  They  do  not  want  to  risk  too  much,  spend  too  much  or  upset   the   company   process   of   decision-­‐making.   The   last   quesBon   was,   what   concerns   you   most   about   decision-­‐making?  

Safety  22%  

Costs  20%  

Speed  29%  

Accuracy  11%  

Other  9%  

Process  9%  

What  does  your  

company  value  most  in  decision-­‐making?  

Impact  22%  

Buy-­‐in  19%  

Account  ability  23%  

Accuracy  9%  

Other  19%  

Recog  niBon  9%  

What  concerns  you  most  about  

decision-­‐making?  

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People  were  very  concerned  with  being  held  accountable  for  making  a  mistake.  This  fear  far  outweighs  the  potenBal  of   being   recognized   for   a   good   decision.   One   respondent   said   making   decisions   in   her   organizaBon   was   so   gut  wrenching  as  to  provoke  a  bowel  movement.  This  is  where  that  secondary  story  becomes  more  important.  Internal  buy-­‐in  from  colleagues  and  bosses  is  as  much  a  factor  as  being  held  accountable  for  a  decision.  People  are  looking  for  input  and  support  but  frequently  get  burned  by  poliBcs.    Decision-­‐making  is  scary  enough  but  when  you  are  forced  to  do  it  fast  then  doubts  and  fears  grow.  This  doesn’t  mean  we  can  take  all  the  Bme  in  world.  Tina  Fey  wrote  in  her  book,  Bossypants,  “You  can’t  be  that  kid  standing  at  the  top  of  the  waterslide,  overthinking  it.  You  have  to  go  down  the  chute.”      I  am  the  least  Zen  person  but  I  am  going  to  reference  a  Zen  saying.  If  you  have  a  glass  of  dirty  water  the  best  way  to  clear  it  is  to  set  it  on  a  windowsill  and  leave  it  alone.  With  sBllness  the  sediment  se7les  to  the  bo7om.  The  thought  being  that  with  a  clear  vision  and  a  sense  of  direcBon  you  can  focus  your  energy  more  effecBvely,  be  more  producBve  and  make  be7er  decisions.  Many  thinkers  of  late  have  idenBfied  this  paradox  of  needing  to  slow  down  to  speed  up.  There  is  proof  that  it  leads  to  be7er  results.    Be7er  Results  The  Economist   Intelligence  Unit   found   that   companies   that   chose   to  go   fast   to   try   to  gain  an  edge  ended  up  with  lower  sales  and  operaBng  profits  than  those  that  pracBced  criBcal  thinking.  Firms  that  “slowed  down  to  speed  up”  improved  their  top  and  bo7om  lines  averaging  40%  higher  sales  and  52%  higher  operaBng  profits  over  a  three-­‐year  period.  

343  Surveyed  

40%  Higher  Sales  

52%  Higher  Profits  

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Neither  Fast  or  Slow  I   see   value   in   speed   but   it   is   not   about   speeding   up   or  slowing   down   it   is   about   sound   criBcal   thinking.   And  criBcal  thinking  is  neither  fast  or  slow.    CriBcal   thinking   is   a   strategic   and   creaBve   way   of  approaching   a   problem   or   an   opportunity.   If   pracBced  properly   the   soluBon   and   decision   present   themselves.  Speed  will  always  be  a  variable  but   it   should  not  be   the  all-­‐consuming   component.   A   be7er   decision   produces  be7er   returns   even   if   it   takes   a   bit   longer   to   get   there.  Yet  criBcal  thinking  can  also  move  you  along  faster  when  done  right.  That  is  the  paradox.    I   am   not   going   to   provide   a   trite   prescripBve   and  oversimplified   process   instead   I   will   highlight   four   key  components   of   criBcal   thinking   to   use   when   you   build  strategies,  craE  markeBng  plans  and  make  decisions.    1.  Be  open  to  insights  Insights  are  delighuully  jarring.  Each  is  unexpected.  They  can   be   a   bit   threatening   to   companies   who   are  programmed   to   reject   surprises.   Yet   this   is   their  advantage.   Coming   up   with   something   new   or   seeing  something  fresh  is  key  to  business  success.    You  cannot  meet  to  have  an  insight.  You  cannot  schedule  an  insight.  You  can  be  only  be  open  to  it.      So  much  of  the  poor  decision-­‐making  I  see  in  companies  is  due  to  seemingly  immovable  biases.  Daniel  Kahneman,  author   of   Thinking,   Fast   and   Slow,   says   that   biases   can  make  us  blind  to  the  obvious  and  even  blind  to  our  own  blindness.    I  oEen  wonder  why  it  took  2,000  years  to  put  wheels  on  our   luggage.  The  concept  of   rolling   luggage  came  out  of  an   observaBon   and   insight   in   1974   and   then   it   took  another   ten   years   for   the   product   to   be   properly  commercialized.   IniBally   a   buyer   at   Macy’s   department  store   rejected   the   idea   that   consumers   would   want   to  pull  their  luggage.  

“Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The creative person looks for history in a hardware store and fashion in an airport.” Robert Wieder

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2.  Best  interests  of  the  customer  One  component  of  criBcal  thinking  in  business  should  be  a  given  but  sadly  it  is  not.  My  first,  greatest,  and  ongoing  disappointment  with  the  business  world  is  the  magnitude  and  frequency  of  decisions  not  made  in  the  best  interests  of  the  customer.    One   of   the   best   sorBng   devices   or   criteria   for   sound  decision-­‐making  is  to  ask  how  it  will   impact  customers.   I  was   taught   many   moons   ago   that   if   you   were   in  markeBng   you   were   to   be   a   passionate   advocate   on  behalf   of   the   customer.   Yet   an   astonishing   amount   of  decision-­‐making  takes  place  without  this  advocacy.      Neulix’s  abrupt  price  changes  in  2011  led  to  an  exodus  of  customers.   Lululemon   had   a   legiBmate   issue   with   its  sheer   pants   yet   went   off   brand   when   the   company  treated   it   so   seriously   that   further   alienated   core  customers.      Forbes  named   the   launch  of  Google  Glass  as  one  of   the  worst  new  product  introducBons  ever.  They  cited  pricing,  promoBon,   distribuBon   and   other   issues   basically  indicBng  it  on  all  4  of  the  4ps.  Both  The  New  York  Times  and   Fast   Company   said   the   biggest   difference   between  Apple   and   Google   is   a   genius   for   markeBng   and   that  means   Apple   knows   and   advocates   on   behalf   of   its  customer.      I   recently   spoke   at   an   innovaBon   event   and   was   asked  why   is   it   that   every   markeBng   book   and   markeBng  conference   menBons   the   same   handful   of   companies?  You  could  play  a  game  of  brand  bingo  at  most  business  conferences   and   fill   up   those   squares  with  menBons   of  Apple,  Amazon,  Coca-­‐Cola,  NEST,  Tim  Hortons.      My  answer  was  because   the  vast  majority  of  businesses  in  the  world  are  mediocre  at  best.  As  Madelaine  Albert  of  Whole  Foods  put  it,  “The  average  work  environment  isn’t  terrible;  its  average.  And  consequently,  so  is  everything  it  does.”    Cultures   that   limit   true   potenBal   and   make   decision-­‐making   threatening   lead   to   deflated   and   dispirited  employees.  The  flipside  of  that   is  deflated  and  dispirited  employees  will  never  build  anything  great.    

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3.  Tell  it  as  a  story  Marketers   are   storytellers.   I   have   found   that   framing  significant  decisions  in  the  form  of  a  story  not  only  comes  naturally  to  us  but  it  goes  a  long  way  to  illuminaBng  the  issue,  entertaining  those  involved  and  showing  the  most  advantageous  path.    Daniel   Gilbert,   Professor   of   Psychology   at   Harvard,   says  that   people   tend   to   overesBmate   the   impact   of   future  events.  We  overstate  the  potenBal  magnitude  expecBng  a   more   intense   and   enduring   result   than   what   actually  occurs.  This  can  paralyze  or  throw-­‐off  decision-­‐making.  A  story  can  put  a  decision  in  its  proper  context  with  a  richer  result.      What   I   have   shared   so   far   shows   that   speed   heightens  our  anxiety  when  it  comes  criBcal  thinking  and  decision-­‐making.   It   also   creates   unfair   and   arBficial   expectaBons  when  we  finally  get  around  to  selecBng  A  or  B  or  C.    4.  Stop  Seeking  Perfec=on  The   final   consideraBon   for   criBcal   thinking   is   to   stop  seeking  perfecBon.  We  are  all  smart  and  well-­‐intenBoned  and  we  are  all  human.  We  are  going  to  make  mistakes.    Whatever   amount   of   energy  we   spend   obsessing   about  potenBal   outcomes,   missteps   we   have   made,   decisions  that  do  not  go  our  way   is  energy  no   longer  available   to  add  value  to  our  business.      Neulix   corrected   its   pricing   approach   and   recently  introduced  a  smart,  measured  and  well  thought-­‐out  price  increase.   Lululemon   eventually   added   extra   material   to  those  sheer  pants  and  sold  them  at  $92  a  pair.  Google’s  Glass   announced   a   partnership   with   Italian   eyewear  company  Luxopca  to  embed  the  technology   in  the  Ray-­‐Ban  and  Oakley  brands  in  hope  that  people  will  gravitate  to  be7er  looking  frames.    

“Great stories happen to those that can

tell them.” Ira Glass

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can

catch excellence.” Vince Lombardi

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There  are  risks  and  trade-­‐offs   in  making  decisions   in  an  ever-­‐acceleraBng  world.  OEen  we  are   forced  to  move  fast  regardless  of  a  desire  to  be  more  deliberate  and  measured.  I  only  cauBon  you  never  to  use  speed  as  an  excuse  for  avoiding  the  criBcal  thinking  that  produces  winning  strategies.    With  speed  and   the   frenzy  of  acBvity   that  goes  with   it  we  may  sacrifice  our  brand’s   reputaBon,   the  quality  of  our  products  and  services,  our  company’s  performance.  We  may  lose  our  relevance.  With  creaBve  criBcal  thinking  we  can  take   our   business   to   a   new   place   because   we   remove   the   fear   and   biases   in   our   own   decision-­‐making   and   our  company’s  culture.    Back  to  TED  TED  announced  that  their  18  minute  limit  for  speakers  could  be  reduced  to  12  or  even  9  minutes.  Pundits  will  criBcize  this  move  as  the  further  dummying  down  of  complex  ideas  and  they  may  be  right.  Benjamin  Bra7on  that  professor  who  took  to  a  TEDx  stage  to  beat  up  on  TED  wrapped  up  his  talk  with  this  thought,    “As  for  one  simple  take  away  ...  I  don't  have  one  simple  take  away,  one  magic  idea.  That's  kind  of  the  point.”              I  do  have  one  take  away  but  it  is  far  from  simple.  That’s  my  point.  Behind  every  concept,  every  idea,  every  challenge  there   is   complexity.   We   lose   the   magic   every   Bme   we   a7empt   to   over   simplify.   Alfred   North   Whitehead,   the  mathemaBcian  and  philosopher,  suggested  the  pursuit  of  simplicity  was  noble  but  it  should  be  distrusted.  Whitehead  feared  that  we  would  make  big  mistakes  by  dismissing  or  glossing  over  the  intricate  and  not  easily  explained.    So  my  take  away  for  you   is  short  and  sweet.   I  ask   that  you  do  not  make  decisions  swiEly  but  once  you  make  that  decision  then  act  swiEly.  

It  is  not  about  speed.  It  is  about  be7er.  

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Jeff  Swystun  President  and    

Chief  MarkeBng  Officer  416.471.4655