Slow Thinking in a Fast-Paced World
The trend started several years ago. In 2013, I attended a conference by Canadian journalist Pierre Maisonneuve. As he was retiring from a career of 41 years on the air with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, he reflected on the trade-offs between the speed at which we produce news, and the quality of the analysis journalists were able to process for each piece.
The following year, Michelin-Star Chef Alice Waters was sharing her initiatives with the Edible Schoolyard. Already a rising trend, the Slow Food Movement was advocating a slower-paced approach to growing, preparing and consuming food, in exchange for a richer meal — both in terms of nutrients and social bonds.
There is something undeniable that our parents and our parents’ parents had understood and which we, as a younger generation, fail to identify:
Excellence takes long, hard work.
Deep understanding and deep insight takes time.
Uninterrupted, focused processing time.
I am concerned about a world where people do not find the time to think anymore. To make sense of all the information that is now at their fingertips. To talk about important issues that will affect industries and societies beyond today. Short-terminsm is but a symptom in the business world that reflects the broader state of things in our society. The good news is, we can revert the trend. It starts with gaining awareness, slowing down, and crafting pockets of protected time for exploration and thinking.
