by John Carroll

            Speed kills.

            A recent survey highlights the statistic that the majority of deaths involving teen-age drivers result from excessive speed.
            Rushing through a retail transaction, a clerk fails to thank the customer for a purchase or offer a smile to the next customer. Both customers take note of the experience.
            Going straight for the close, a sales representative skips critical questions that would uncover the prospect’s needs. There’s no sale this time around, and, due to this experience, there won’t be another meeting between the two.

            We hear ad nauseam of the speed of change and the rate at which we had better be moving if we’re to keep up with technology and current trends. The response we see from many people in business and elsewhere is simply to go faster and hope that they’re getting to more opportunities sooner than their competitors, that they’re getting in line ahead of other customers or that they’re passing those slow-moving cars on the freeway.
            Consider the difference between speed and velocity. Speed refers to a rate of movement, while velocity concerns itself with how fast an object moves in a specific direction. Do you pride yourself on speed or on velocity?
            Hurry may be defined as moving quickly with little thought about what may be around the next corner. Hustle is taking a specific direction with a well-defined goal in mind and moving purposefully and thoughtfully ahead in that direction. 

            Worry is fretting over the possible outcomes of situations outside of one’s control or concentrating on the potential negative outcomes of an opportunity. Focus is concerning oneself with the task at hand, its implications in the short- and long-term and thinking through the steps involved.

Hurry and worry quiz
            How familiar are you with this two-headed monster of an approach to business and life? Answer the following questions and see for yourself:
            Do you often find yourself making snap judgments on things just so you can get to the next task or crisis?
            Are you emotionally drained at day’s end due to dealing with one emergency after another?
            Will you occasionally take out your frustrations in a verbal barrage directed at a team member or associate and find yourself regretting the action later?
            Are you lying awake at 3 a.m. more than one night per week, staring at the ceiling and debating with yourself the best way to handle a critical issue?
            Are you consistently forgetting little action items or failing to bring the proper file or materials to your meetings?

            If you answered yes to three or more of these questions, you are a candidate for the Hurry and Worry Award. The prizes that come with this award are a shorter life, low quality relationships and continuous personal and professional frustration.

Hustle and focus
            In times of economic turbulence, such as much of the nation has been experiencing, it pays to rethink the approach you take in both your business and personal life. Do you choose to work faster and harder and hope your results will change? Do you try to be someone you’re not in hopes that you can sustain strong performance? Or, do you step back, assess the situation, consider the basic reasons that your customers or clients choose to do business with you and meet their current needs accordingly?
            There’s an episode of the Winnie the Pooh animated television series in which Tigger, the ebullient and frenetic tiger, seems to have lost his stripes. As a result, he questions his very self and tries his hand at being everything from a rabbit to a lighted holiday tree. Failing at each attempt to be someone or something else, he experiences frustration and sadness at losing his identity, finally reaching the point where he doesn’t know what else to do.
            Then, in a moment where his instincts take over, he reverts to his own, inimitable style of bouncing on his tail and laughing his very own unmistakable laugh. He sees his stripes miraculously begin to reappear and life is wonderful once again.
            We can take a lesson from Tigger by slowing down long enough to see who we really are in business and in life. If we’ve hurried and worried ourselves right out of our own stripes, it could be very easy to think we need to try to be someone other than who we truly are.

Keys to hustle and focus
            Here are some ideas you can use to turn hurry and worry into more productive and constructive, less stressful moments in your work and elsewhere. 
            1. Take a back-to-basics approach to business and life – When was the last time you stopped and asked the simple question, “Why am I doing this in this way at this time?” This one easy step with some honest answers can often help you stop something unproductive and stressful and free you up to move onto more valuable efforts.
            2. Get a healthy perspective on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it – Touch base with someone outside of what you’re doing to help you see the what and why. A trusted third party can often ask the seemingly dumb question that puts a process or problem in perspective and gets you out of a hurry-worry cycle.
            3. Take several deep breaths to allay the worry of the moment – In almost any profession, you have a moment or two to take a deep breath and calm yourself in the face of a challenging situation. It’s simple, it costs nothing and it can mean the difference between a positive, constructive response and a response you may regret later.
            4. Reassure yourself that no one will die because you failed to complete this particular task at this particular time – As humans, we have a tendency occasionally to put our lives in a high-drama mode, betting the future of the world as we know it on how we handle a particular circumstance. One of our clients is a former hospital CEO. She put it in perspective when she said, “An emergency is when there’s a life hanging in the balance and the people or equipment to respond to that situation are not available.” Unless there’s a life hanging in the balance, give yourself the space and time to respond constructively.
            5. Smile to remind your face of the wonder of the universe that surrounds you – The physiological step of smiling for just a moment can make a huge difference in your day. As I recall someone mentioning, “If you’re feeling well today, be sure to tell your face.” Your own pleasant countenance can help you and others regain valuable confidence in the face of trying times.
            6. Set time aside for yourself each day to re-fuel for the challenges ahead – Your days can quickly move out of your control if you allow it to happen. There is nothing noble about burning yourself out on behalf of others. The proactive approach is to insure your own renewal and re-energizing system. You only have control of your day and your life when you put part of your day aside for yourself. Write goals, meditate, exercise, do a journal, take a walk or make a side trip through a particularly beautiful part of your town, just to soak up the splendor of that scene. You deserve it, so just do it.

Give up the hustle and hurry by incorporating one or more of these ideas. Then you can move quickly with purpose and foresight to handle virtually anything the world can throw at you.

© 2001 John Carroll All rights reserved.