Sutton is a professor emeritus in the department of management science and engineering at Stanford University, and Rao is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Faster isn't always better when it comes to work

"In this hypercompetitive world, the prize, we're often told, goes to the fastest," Sutton and Rao write. "You snooze, you lose." The goal of many leaders is to create frictionless organizations by removing obstacles that hinder progress and frustrate both employees and customers.

However, it's also important to know when and how to slow down when it comes to work. "We all know the feeling of rushing into fix something before we even know what's going on," Sutton and Rao write. "And we know what happens: We not only don't fix anything, but we make the problem worse."

Through their research, Sutton and Rao have identified eight situations where smart leaders will encourage their employees to slow down instead of working faster:   

1. When you have to make big, irreversible decisions

According to Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos, leaders should consider whether the decisions they're making are "one way" or "two way" doors.

One-way doors are "consequential and irreversible or nearly irreversible," Bezos said, and one-way decisions "must be made methodically, carefully, slowly, with great deliberation and consultation." In comparison, two-way doors are "changeable, reversible" and require less consideration overall.

Although large companies may move too slowly if they use cumbersome decision processes with two-way decisions, small companies that move too quickly on one-way decisions may become "extinct before they get large," Bezos said.

2. When you're trying to solve complicated problems

In a 2023 study published in Nature Communications, researchers found that individuals with higher scores in general intelligence took longer to solve difficult problems. This longer problem-solving time also led to greater accuracy since they did not prematurely leap to incorrect conclusions.

In a real-world example, Civilla, a nonprofit in Detroit that aims to improve government services, spent hundreds of hours interviewing stakeholders and testing out prototypes of a new benefits form for Michigan residents. The organization's efforts ultimately reduced the original 42-page form by 80% and cut processing time for staffers by 42%.

"We all understood that implementing a quick solution into a complex organization can often lead to well-placed intentions stumbling, failing, and often costing more," said Civilla CEO and cofounder Michael Brennan.

3. When you're doing creative work

According to Teresa Amabile, a psychologist and professor at Harvard Business School, people will perform poorly on creative work when they have to work quickly, efficiently, and avoid making mistakes.

Ed Catmull, who was president of Pixar for its first 32 years, agreed, saying that if the company had emphasized speed and efficiency, it would not have been as successful. "The goal isn’t efficiency, it is to make something good, or even great," he said. "We iterate seven to nine times, with friction in the process."

4. When you want to encourage ethical behavior

In a 2021 study published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, researchers examined corporate mission statements to compare managers who were urged to move quickly and those who were asked to slow down and consider their actions.

Overall, the researchers found that participants who "read a mission statement that emphasized urgent action over thoughtful consideration" had four times higher odds of performing unethical behavior, such as age discrimination.

"Convincing people to slow down and fix things — rather than move fast and break things — reduces the odds they will engage in unethical acts," Sutton and Rao write.

5. When you're trying to combat biases and stereotype

According to Jennifer Eberhardt, a professor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, taking time to answer questions can reduce racist stereotypes and behavior.

For example, when Nextdoor, a community social-networking service that allows neighbors to share information, reached out to Eberhardt for help about racial profiling, she recommended adding questions before someone could report a person, slowing them down.

After adding questions such as "What was this person doing that made him suspicious?" and providing a definition of racial profiling, racial profiling on the Nextdoor app dropped by 75%. The company has also since added other products to further reduce racial profiling.

6. When you want to avoid slowing things down even more

"Sometimes you have to slow things down to keep employees from doing things that slow things down even more," Sutton and Rao write. "The way to do that is to make people pause, think and jump through annoying hoops before they can heap additional burdens on others."

For example, a company cut the number of software tools it used — many of them for the same tasks — from over 50 to around 20 after requiring purchasers to provide a reason why the tool is needed and having the chief technology officer approve any requests. "A little bureaucratic hassle saved a lot of redundancy, and a lot of money," Sutton and Rao write.

7. When you're connecting with customers

"For many customer-facing employees, speed is a two-edged sword: They want to handle as many customers as possible, but speed isn’t always compatible with a great customer experience," Sutton and Rao write.

The best leaders will recognize this inherent conflict and understand when it's necessary to slow things down for customers. For example, in the Netherlands, the supermarket chain Jumbo implemented "slow" or "chatter checkout" lanes for older customers who wanted to enjoy conversations with cashiers. What started as an experiment in one store has since spread to around 200 Jumbo stores.

8. When you're taking the time to enjoy life

Slowing down can not only be good for a company, but also an employee's personal well-being. According to Fred Bryant, a professor of psychology at Loyola University Chicago, taking time to enjoy positive experiences in your mind is associated with better mental and physical health, relationships, and creative problem solving.

One way leaders can encourage employees to "savor" positive moments is by creating a "ta-da list," or a list of accomplishments. By doing so, employees "will feel proud and energized to tackle the challenges ahead," Sutton and Rao write. "And they'll just feel good." (Sutton/Rao, Wall Street Journal, 1/24)

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