Navy SEALs’ mantra “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” underscores deliberate actions designed to avoid mistakes and maximize team efficiency under high-stakes situations while maintaining calm under pressure.
This principle mirrors how sailing racing crews practice precision and speed techniques to reduce time-loss in races. Achieving such proficiency can save seconds and ultimately secure victory for their race.
It’s a Military Mantra
“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast” is at the heart of Navy SEAL training and real-world operations. This philosophy stresses accuracy over speed; deliberate action are required rather than hastened ones.
SEALs understand that by taking time to carefully prepare for an operation by checking gear, studying maps or reviewing operations plans in advance, mistakes that might compromise mission success are reduced significantly. A similar philosophy underlies rowing where crew members work as one unit – when they move together harmoniously their boat flies across the water while when out of tune they veer off course, lose an oar or waste energy fighting among themselves.
Beyond military realm, this principle also holds true in other industries and professions. From surgeons and master electricians, to athletes and business leaders – everyone from surgeons to master electricians need reminders that thoughtful actions often yield better results than hurried efforts. Research demonstrates this phenomenon among top marksmen; their precision often brings higher scores due to slower initial movements but superior outcomes as a result.
It’s a Business Principle
The Navy SEAL principle “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast” can be applied in numerous business contexts. From defusing bombs and planning covert operations to managing complex project deadlines and delegating work effectively, this principle ensures consistent workflow, reduces errors, and ultimately leads to faster overall progress.
Carefully considering each action ensures proper motor patterns are established and prevents costly errors from being committed in haste, leading to costly time delays in fixing them later on. Furthermore, taking this approach allows individuals to remain calm under pressure – an integral component of succeeding in high-stakes situations.
Take time to slow down and practice each skill before applying it under pressure. Otherwise, individuals may make careless mistakes that put others in harm’s way, athletes might lose to inferior opponents in a rush, and distracted executives could miss a crucial chance to communicate their strategy – all leading to wasted effort and lost opportunities. By developing skills necessary for smooth operation under pressure and practicing them to perfection over time, individuals will soon see faster speed and greater success; all mistakes on a to-do list take longer.
It’s a Sports Principle
Disarming explosives or launching a new product requires precision and calmness in high-stakes situations. Hasty actions could put lives in jeopardy, as well as cause irreparable damage to projects; which is why Navy SEALs emphasize slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Practice slowly so that correct motor patterns become ingrained before proceeding at a controlled pace. Pushing your nervous system past its comfort level will only result in failed tasks and thus further retard overall progress.
Moving slowly also reduces your energy expenditure, making it useful when fighting ocean currents or traversing treacherous terrain. Applying this principle of “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” to sports, business and any other arena where precise movement is crucial to success is highly advantageous.
Watch any elite athlete or military unit perform and you’ll see this principle at work. Though they appear to be moving quickly, their movements are relaxed and deliberate – this is due to having learned their craft slowly before increasing it gradually until reaching peak performance without additional energy expenditure.
It’s a Personal Productivity Principle
Slow is smooth is fast is a personal productivity principle designed to assist individuals and teams reach goals through purposeful action. Productivity guru Cal Newport describes this approach as: “Smooth is the path to success, not speed.” This philosophy suggests starting slowly to ensure things go as smoothly as possible later; for instance rushing your shoes tying can result in costly errors such as tripping over them later!
People can also use virtual reality to hone and perfect their skills before applying them in high-stakes situations, which enables surgeons, master electricians and enterprise sales reps to reach the pinnacle of their professions – this includes surgeons, master electricians and enterprise sales reps. Starting gradually and deliberately ensures motor patterns become embedded before finally performing accurate execution with speed increases as accuracy and consistency increase over time.
An image of rowers practicing their cadence provides the perfect example of this philosophy. If they rushed the process, they’d quickly fall out of sync with one another and veer off course – potentially losing an oar, using up their physical exertion, and sinking beneath the water’s surface. But when working together as a team and remaining calm under pressure, their boat “flies” across its entirety like never before!
It’s a Conflict Resolution Principle
Military, sports, business and even personal situations often pose challenges that require swift action; yet we should remember that haste can sometimes prove counterproductive. Unethical soldiers could make mistakes that endanger their life; unprepared athletes could fall to more skilled opponents; or hard driving executives might mismanage a crucial situation. “Slow is smooth” can be an invaluable mantra when dealing with difficult conversations or situations, because it emphasizes active listening, empathy and thoughtful responses in order to avoid conflict-inducing rushed actions that escalate quickly and
escalate drama. This series offers Weekly Whiteboards, case studies, webinars and actionable playbooks designed to promote this approach to leadership.