"Five years ago, we thought speed was important. One year ago, we knew speed was important. Now speed is survival." -- Fast Company, Jan. 2001

SPEED: THE MUST-HAVE PLATITUDE FOR TODAY'S ECONOMY
How to Move Faster than Your Competitors, Your Company, Even Yourself

NEW YORK, N.Y. (SatireWire.com) — You hear it over and over again. To survive in today's networked economy, companies need to move fast. Very fast. Faster than ever. What does this mean? No one really knows. No idea. None whatsoever.

This makes "speed" the essential business platitude, and makes interviews like the following, with Alison Parfit, coordinator of the Acceleration Team at AT&T, metaphorically vital to your company's survival.

Alison, welcome. Why do you think speed is essential to survival in today's economy?
Business is moving faster than ever, so you've got to move faster than ever. Faster than your competitors, faster than your company. Faster than yourself.

That's fast.
That's survival. The truth is, if you're too slow, you're history.

What about dust? Could you be dust?
Yes, also toast.

Jarring, real-world advice. I think I just heard two dozen companies organize Acceleration Teams. Speaking of which, you started an Acceleration Team at AT&T. Why?
We wanted to make speed a way of life across the company, and also create a workplace environment that valued speed and swiftness.

Shake-up city. Rock the foundation. What did you find?
You can't achieve great speed without speedy people, because in the end, speedy people are not just faster than average people, they're much faster, and they can make business move at the speed of light.

Super informative. You've opened some eyes today. Now, I also understand you found barriers to speed. Can you explain?
Barriers to speed are obstacles, speed bumps, things that slow you down individually, as a team, or as a company. Slowing things. Things that impede and slow the process.

Goose bumps of recognition. All companies have this problem. Are you saying there's a cure?
Absolutely. If you want to speed up your people and speed up your business, you must remove those speed bumps.

How about "Destroy those speed bumps"? A lot of our readers are male.
Yes, you can't go wrong there.

Sin qua non business advice. OK, let's get even more micro. A specific situation. You've got a company, moving too slowly, what can it do? Nitty gritty detail.
They have to remove speed bumps, and they must be willing to think fast and act fast, both as individuals and — and this is imperative if the corporation as a whole is going to move fast — as a group. If individuals and groups move fast, the company will move fast.

Excellent. Can you be any less specific?
No, I don't think so.

Tremendous. Worth the cover price right there. Well, Alison, anything we haven't addressed?
Yes. At most companies, people work beneath their potential velocities. If you dig a little, you'll discover this is because people don't feel empowered.

Speed bump alert! What can companies do?
Empower them.

Major e-piphany. M.B.A. advice. This article should come with a diploma.

Copyright © 2001, SatireWire.

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