We’ve all heard that slow and steady wins the race, but how many people really believe that? In the age of smart phones and social media at our fingertips, we are constantly bombarded with messages, tweets and posts. Our attention span has significantly shortened. Perhaps this is a sign of the times of what our society is like now. The emphasis on ‘fast’ has also become a trend in the business world. The term fail-fast symbolises exactly that.
Focus On The Bigger Picture
I thought it would be refreshing to look at something that’s more worldly this week. I watched an interview with Chamath Palihapitiya at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, it was quite inspiring. He is a very influential and well-known entrepreneur who runs a company called Social Capital and he has a unique view on business and life in general. In this talk, he discussed the importance of focusing on the bigger picture by tackling big problems and taking the long term view (among many other things but I will focus on steady growth). He said that this is what successful companies will look like in the future.
Chamath said that the real business opportunities actually lie in the problems that are worthy of tackling. These are issues that affect a vast number of people such as environmental issues, education, and health (care). They affect millions of people around the globe. In contrast, most businesses today tend to focus on getting our attention by bombarding us with ads that promote quick fixes.
Chamath argues that the short-term focus of businesses actually doesn’t help them flourish in the long run. It’s also very competitive and cutthroat. So it’s probably not particularly inspiring for both the people who work in these companies and the broader customer base. Long term focus is actually where the opportunities lie, unsurprisingly, there is almost no competition and it is where one can make a lot of money. The reason is that not many people want to spend time to do the hard work and tackle important issues. It makes sense that whoever comes up with ‘the solution’ to a problem will inevitably become successful.
Implications For The Individual
What does this have to do with me? You may be thinking. I think it’s reassuring to hear from business figures because we don’t always associate them as ‘kind-hearted’ people. But if it works in the business world, why shouldn’t it work for other people in other areas as well? We should have the faith and patience to do the things that we believe are right and worth working on/fighting for. Focus on serving others and solving their problems then perhaps the rewards will come in surprising ways. Quick approaches may seem attractive, but to enjoy long term success slow and steady seems to be the way to go.