In Commercial Real Estate Time is of the Essence. Make it Work for You, Greg
Why The First Roman Emperor's Motto Matters: Move Slowly to Move Quickly.
Forbes 5/18/2020. Gautum Mukunda, I write about leadership, innovation, and policy for entrepreneurs and execs.
"Augustus Caesar created the Roman Empire. His impact was so titanic that, to this day, we name a month for him. After the assassination of his uncle, Julius Caesar, he helped defeat the assassins then made himself the sole ruler of Rome. He replaced the decaying remnants of the Roman Republic with new institutions that gave him essentially total power and became the Roman Empire. He ruled for 40 years, and for two centuries afterwards the Empire's heartland saw unprecedented peace and prosperity, even as its armies brutally expanded its territory.
Throughout his long reign Augustus had one motto. He emphasized it to his generals and thought it so important that he had coins minted with an image symbolizing it: "festina lente." Make haste, slowly.
The fastest way to get something done is to do it right the first time. Even – especially - when you're feeling the crunch, take your time.
Augustus's advice is backed up by today's science. In Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist, described two systems for thought. System 1 is fast and emotional and relies on stereotypes. System 2 is slow and difficult and relies on calculation. The more you hurry – and even more importantly, the more you feel that you are hurried – the more you rely on System 1. There are situations when you need to do that. But most of the time, you'll be far better served thinking your way through a crisis than letting your emotions govern your decisions…
…Right now, if you lead a business, you probably feel like you're under the gun. The economy is collapsing and the whole world seems to be falling apart. Augustus knew the feeling. He took over his era's superpower on the point of collapse and brought it centuries of prosperity, and one of the keys to his success was knowing the importance of taking his time. The easiest thing in the world is to react too quickly to a crisis. You will have to move quickly. But before you do, remember the words of the first Roman Emperor. Make haste, slowly."
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