Over the past few years ‘foodies’ have been extolling the virtues of slow food, a philosophy of eat local and organic that has taken off around the world. In the UK, for example, the southwest part of the country is full of organic farms, local delivery, and small slow-food restaurants in former pubs-turned-gourmet hotspots. Perhaps it all started with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, I’m not really sure. Actually, as I think about it, ’slow food’ has been a way of life for centuries in places like France and Italy, which suggests that the slowing down part of it might just be the process of us uptight Anglos finally getting a fucking clue as to how to live a balanced, whole life! Oh well…
Slow Work
How does this relate to work? Yesterday Bandit turned me on to a new magazine called Slow Leadership, which proposes that we consider applying this slowing down process to leadership and work.
Slow Leadership offers ways of returning civilization and humanity to organizations.
It is essential that leaders think more clearly and make better choices, free from today’s constant obsession with meeting unrealistic, short-term expectations.
Slow Leaders are slow only in making irrevocable decisions or jumping to conclusions based on nothing but a quick glance and a belief in looking busy at all times. (from SlowLeadership.com)
This gets us back to the conversations we’ve had here about the differences between Process vs. Results, a point initially made beautifully by Round3 Media’s Bart Mroz. Thanks Bart! Not that there is anything slow, per se, about the way Bart, Alex, and the guys at Indy Hall work. (Legend has it that Alex Hillman can actually do 11 things at the same time. Ive never actually seen that, but I’m inclined to believe it’s true…) But in the Alice Waters-French cuisine sense of the word, they are engaged in slow work. What do I mean by this?
It is local and organic. They avoid long and wasteful commutes, and they save energy and they do their part to not abuse the planet. And their work is filled with authentic passion.
This is a far cry from the sorry-ass excuses for work and career that the legions of commuters engage in as they spend hours each day mired in traffic, going nowhere slow. Or fast, really. The traffic may move slowly, but make no mistake, they are not embracing slow work. It really is the old tortoise and the hare thing, isn’t it?
Fuck that!
The Butcher
Right on! My sentiments wholeheartedly!
Let me tell you about a fun time shifting game I like to play:
When toodling down the freeway, stay in the slower lanes and go 55 mph. Take in the beauty of the day and think about all the wonderful things in your life. Imagine yourself driving an old jalopy and wearing a Jughead hat. Then, watch in amusement as the other drivers around you get completely apoplectic! (And remind yourself this is how you look when you’re in fear/panic and loss of perspective.)
I gave a great talk yesterday noting that in my mind, the hallmark of a true visionary is a person who maintains perspective and breadth of vision by slowing down and staying expansive. Fear contracts and narrows vision. Then I gave tips on how to notice when you start moving into contraction and quickly readjust equilibrium…
It was well-received. Gotta take it on the road!
Speaking of the road - back to the jalopy again. An added benefit is that I arrive to meetings on or before time. There’s truth to “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get!”
Best,
mags