Slow is smooth, smooth is fast: why it matters for strategy and change

By Mike Jones and Steve Hearsum

Organisations are obsessed with speed, so too is the rhetoric of change. A quick search reveals statements like: "the speed of change requires us to think fast, decide fast, act fast and move on fast…” There are endless books and frameworks urging organisations to act fast—often rooted in traditional management logic. Think: step-by-step change models, top-down strategy rollouts, and command-and-control execution. These practices assume that certainty is achievable and that speed equals progress. But in reality, they often accelerate misalignment, anxiety, and fragility. The anxiety is palpable. Fuelled by headlines about AI, disruption, and existential risk, leaders are told there’s no time. That everything must happen now. The resulting delay risks failure.

Really?...

In combat, moving too fast at the wrong moment doesn’t mean inefficiency—it means death.

In the military, ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast " isn't just about tactical drills. It's about deliberate practice, being calm under pressure, and preparing for the unpredictable. It embodies an approach where mastery is built through thoughtful repetition, not rushed activity. When the moment comes, smooth execution, grounded in understanding, habit, and situational awareness, delivers speed where it matters.

That same principle applies in organisations navigating change and complexity.

1. Strategy without drill is just theatre

Many organisations mistake planning for preparedness. Strategy becomes a beautiful but brittle slide deck. It may look pretty, it may be whizzy, and you may have had it designed by a team of bright young people in a consultancy, so if it looks good, then clearly everything will be okay. In reality, change becomes a branded initiative, hollow and disjointed. These are not rehearsed drills; they're performative gestures.

"Slow is smooth" reminds us: take the time to understand your environment, stress-test your intent, rehearse your logic, and build coherence before acting. Rushing to "the strategy day" or a named change programme skips the essential groundwork.

2. Action without reflection is panic

Leaders often feel uncomfortable when modelling reveals what they must now do. It's not that they lack intelligence; they've never slowed down enough to confront uncertainty, surface tensions, notice their anxiety, accept they do not know everything or truly understand the implications of their manoeuvres.

Fast change without that reflection becomes chaotic. It is reactive, incoherent, and unsafe, just like rushing a drill in combat. The anxiety gets displaced through glossy decks, slogans, or ‘resistance’ narratives.

3. Smooth is fast, but only when it's practised

Smoothness doesn't come from rigidity. It comes from preparation, coherence, and feedback. In the military, you don't rehearse to get it perfect. You rehearse so that in real conditions, chaotic, messy, uncertain, you have clarity of action.

In strategy, smoothness emerges when:

• Intent is unambiguous.

• Structures support autonomy.

• Feedback loops are in place and listened to.

• Leaders are practised at reorienting, not just declaring.

That kind of smoothness allows for rapid adaptation without collapse. It gives you actual agility, not the buzzword, but the deeply rehearsed organisational capability to adapt with purpose. Rehearsing that capability does not just happen by accident, however. We need to take responsibility for how we show up and the impact we have, and learn to work that muscle again and again, at individual and group levels. Without that, it is just more white noise.

In strategy and change, many organisations are sprinting blindfolded, mistaking momentum for direction. That is fine unless you are running full tilt into a brick wall or over a cliff.

The military saying reframes this beautifully:

"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast"

This means to think deeply, move deliberately, and act with coherence. These qualities allow you to move quickly when it matters. It is also worth making clear that in a military context, this may be the difference between life and death, or serious injury at best. Running full tilt without considering where and why you are heading, nor the pace that might be appropriate, makes a well-worn metaphor that we hear in many organisations all the more pointed. If you fear raising your head above the parapet for fear it might be shot off, in a military context, that means slow is useful. To be clear: this is not about never taking risks, it is rather about thinking about change and strategy in context, whilst also paying attention to the practices you need to develop and a more grounded understanding of what pace actually represents.

In the military, poor pacing is lethal. In organisations, it's rarely fatal - but it does a great job of killing clarity, morale, and momentum.

If you want to talk to us about change or strategy, drop us a line at mike@lbiconsulting.com or steve@hearsum.com.