Why your next decision deserves a speed bump
Newsletter #26
TL;DR: Paris reminded me that pace isn’t neutral. In business, slowing down isn’t laziness, it’s power. Add a deliberate speed bump to your next decision and see what surfaces.
I’ve just come back from a few slow and super relaxed days in Paris with my Bestie. The city was peaceful and quiet as many Parisians had left for the month of August and a public holiday made for a long weekend for those who remained.
Shops slept behind shutters and half-empty boulevards encouraged us to slowly stroll everywhere. So much so that we often took longer to get anywhere than the app suggested. (In London, beating the walking app is my unofficial Olympic sport. In Paris? The app beat us every time and it didn’t bother me one bit!)
One afternoon we cycled around on bikes with no gears, no battery power and no Tour de France ambition. Just pedals and a relaxed pace that let you notice the architecture and feel the wind in your hair.
The rhythm of those few days made for a truly restorative break. It also made me think about the pace and pressure in our everyday lives, the luxury of slowing down to give you space to breathe, a fresh perspective, and the chance to move with intention.
In business, not everyone has the privilege to pause. Some people can build in time to reflect. Others are pulled into pressured deadlines.
Traditional business tools rarely encourage slowing down - they're more e-scooter than pedal bike. Slack messages expecting instant replies, decision frameworks pushing for rapid problem-solving. These tools decide who gets consulted (whoever's online now) and what gets considered (whatever data is immediately available). Speed becomes the value metric, efficiency trumps nuance and we mistake urgency for importance.
But what if we created a culture where pausing wasn’t indulgent but built-in? Where friction, like slow pedals that limit speed, are a feature, not a flaw? A kind of speed bump that forces you to look up and notice your surroundings.
Which brings us to this week’s question:
Why this question?
Because pace isn’t neutral. It carries power and priorities that might not even be yours. Just as cycling slowly through Paris let me see details I’d usually whizz past, slowing a decision can surface voices, risks or options that urgency hides. It can redistribute power by letting others share their thoughts and concerns.
Friction, whether it's a 'sleep on it' pause, or a 'let's ask the team' breather, creates a respite window urgency tries to steal. This could look like scheduling important emails to send the next morning, requiring two people to sign off on decisions that affect team structure or building a 48-hour cooling-off period into tricky negotiations.
Try this tool this week: Make a Speed Bump
Add one deliberate “speed bump” before your next decision. It could be a walk, a draft saved overnight or an extra conversation. Something that gives you time to notice and question more.
Notice whether the delay changes the outcome or simply helps you trust it more.
And remember, the point is to pause not to grind to such a halt you fall off the bike.
Till Next Time,
P.S. Have you designed “friction” into a process or decision? I’d love to hear what you added and what you noticed.