Sometimes, slowing things down at the right moments can make a much stronger impact.
Making a hasty decision, or adding a new piece of software, or progressing with the app you always wanted can make the whole business process far more complicated.
If sustainable results are to be reached, you have to pick the moments to accelerate and also the occasions for a more methodical approach.
Laura Yarrow from the Experience UX team says, “Take a step back and view what you want to deliver through the lens of the consumer. It can be the only option. This gives clarity and a view of what others see, that is not just analytics, stats, and features.”
It pays to concentrate, focus and not swiftly jump into decisions. In 2014, researchers Pam A. Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer delivered a study that taking notes by hand and not jumping straight onto a keyboard, encourages a deeper understanding and supports retention.
Mueller and Oppenheimer said, “This is suggestive evidence that longhand notes may have superior external storage as well as superior encoding functions.” In other words, being strategically slower, allows you to understand better and to be able to deliver a stronger outcome.
Slowing down at the right moments is something that Ali Carmichael acknowledges, “When we pause it becomes easier to recognise that the noise is all distraction. The answers are simpler than we envisioned, and we notice how all other businesses are getting caught in the same inside-out trap. What is powerful here is that, by slowing down slightly, you can have a clear advantage.”
Now is the time to build trust with the audiences you serve, rather than jumping feet first into a tactical delivery. Jenny Lewis says, “Businesses become immersed in new tech and what they want to pursue can sometimes be no more than a trend. For instance, AI does represent innovation, but many people are obsessed with trying to innovate, but not know why. I say it comes down to a lack of knowledge. Businesses do need to be challenged and asked ‘why.”
It is not just about delivering the perfect digital infrastructure, shopping carts, or customer monitoring software but to think about that person you want to talk to. What does that person need? What problems do they have at the moment? How can you be that beacon of help and trust? It’s by slowing down at the right moments to help you plan and deliver.
