The best solution to a complex business problem will rarely be the first one you think of.

That’s because your first impression of a problem may be based on your limited experience from the past—challenges that you already know how to solve. To overcome new obstacles, you need to be able to truly understand them at a deeper level.

And that presents a bit of a dilemma.

Complex business problems can come packed with emotional baggage. The last thing you want to do is slow down and immerse yourself in all that pressure, urgency, discomfort, fear, and anxiety.

Most of us would much rather fix (or even ignore) the problem as quickly as possible so that it will just go away.

But there’s a big difference between taking effective action and randomly hacking away at a problem. It may seem counterintuitive, but slowing down is often far more productive and efficient than speeding up.

There’s a saying that originated in the US military, but applies perfectly to solving complex business problems:

“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

I like Ryan Holiday’s take on this…

“If you’re going quickly for the sake of speed, you’re going to make costly mistakes. You’re going to miss opportunities. You’re going to miss critical warnings. Go smoothly, go with less speed, and you’ll actually go faster and better.”

The key skill here is having the patience to:

• Not commit to the first solution that you think of.
• Allow time for your subconscious mind to work on the problem.
• Sit with the messiness, discomfort, and uncertainty long enough to see the entire puzzle and where the pieces might fit best.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast is about finding the right balance between “jumping to the first solution” and “analysis paralysis.” Making forward progress, but doing it with intention, awareness, and skill.

Rushing to solve your problems might make you feel productive, but may end up actually taking you much longer to discover the right solutions.

What will you do today to speed up by actually slowing down?

Will you give yourself the time and space you need to think through a complex business problem before jumping into solution mode?