Festina Lente 🔶
A better refined core principle for Action and thinking in Design & Problem Solving Fields.
If you have ever sat through an Feedback session with your peers or managers, chances are they would point out that your Bias for Action could be better.
A "Bias for Action" is a business and personal productivity philosophy that emphasizes the importance of taking quick and decisive steps. It is often associated with dynamic, fast-paced environments where responsiveness and agility are valued. This approach is prevalent in startup cultures and industries where rapid iteration and quick decision-making can be critical to success.
Key Characteristics for Bias of Action:
Speed: Prioritizes rapid execution and the ability to act quickly on opportunities or problems.
Decisiveness: Encourages making decisions swiftly to maintain momentum and capitalize on the current state of affairs.
Risk Tolerance: Often involves a higher willingness to take risks, accepting that mistakes can be part of the learning and growth process.
However, i’ve always felt this does exactly signify what I do daily as a designer. As a designer, I need to think slowly but act fast.
Thinking slowly but acting fast in my daily job means:
Think deeply about my user’s Jobs to be Done, their Needs and wants, think about business needs and execute them as quickly as Wireframes.
Think consistently about future needs of business and have answers ready.
Work with various stakeholders and have an answer ready for most.
Rationalise my decisions and drive decision making patiently among stakeholder.
and All the above needs to be done in a fast paced timeline.
Hence when i read the word, “Festina Lente”, I felt complete 🙈
"Festina Lente" is a classical adage and oxymoron meaning "make haste slowly." It juxtaposes the concepts of speed ("Festina" - make haste) and caution ("Lente" - slowly) to convey the idea of acting with diligence and efficiency while also being deliberate and careful to avoid errors.
This phrase has been used historically in various contexts, including as a motto by Roman emperors, such as Augustus, to encapsulate the wisdom of balancing urgency with prudence.
So, how does this Roman Emperor’s adage work for us today in Design Teams?
Setting frequent milestones for myself so progress is made consistently.
Thinking deeply before, I begin putting down anything in wireframes or pixels.
Progress is measurable with actionable steps.
Consistent Zooming In and Out to share decisions, thought process and progress.
Stakeholders are informed and decisions are persuaded.
Converging and diverging as required with the team will help in moving the project along quickly.
There is enough room for error and unexpected discoveries in the planning document.
If things go wrong, we take stock of it, draw a line and move forward to next steps.
Today, I’m learning to imbibe this latin adage to almost every part of my life and i hope you use it in your daily life too!
—
Make haste slowly 🏃♀️➡️
Madhuri
