GOATs don't scurry

It is easy to get into the mode of scurrying—darting quickly from one thing to the next, often not quite seeing the first thing through nor preparing for the second (and then repeating that habit ad nauseum). I once worked with someone who was somehow perpetually late for one thing, not present in the moment, and always in a rush to move on. My visual image of him includes walking quickly down a hallway, coffee spilling out a mug in one hand and papers falling out of folders tucked under his other shoulder. Not exactly the kind of image we want to give, nor the presence that serves any of us well.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden is quoted to have said, “Be quick but don’t hurry.” Recently retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady and current NBA star LeBron James are among the greatest their sports have ever seen, and both are sometimes referred to as among the GOATs (greatest of all time), and I see Wooden's admonition in how they perform.

While both certainly think and move quickly, they never seem to be in a hurry. As a result, both are able to perform at their best even in—and particularly in—the most difficult moments...and, as they have done so time and time again, that sense of confidence spills over to their teammates, who can then use their pace, tempo, and poise as a model for success. These GOATs don’t scurry—they act with urgency, they decide and move quickly, but they finish every action fully and prepare quickly for the next.

When pressure picks up, do you maintain a steady--even if quicker—pace? Does that pace serve you well in terms of your ability to see things through? What visual image would others have of you—quiet calm, frantic scrambling, or something in between? What would you want them to see?

Learn from these GOATs--move with urgency and quickness, but never so fast that you begin to scurry about.