Best Practices – Faster Isn’t Always Better

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Commentary by Jeff Mandel

RISMEDIA, April 21, 2008-How many times have you gotten into your car and driven well beyond the speed limit? Now, think about how many times you’ve noticed motorists swerving as a result of their cell phone use? Think you’re better at paying attention than “that other driver?” Think again. The results of numerous studies indicate speeding and inattention resulting from cell phone use while driving are simply not worth the risk.

This point was accentuated recently when I spent the entire day with a good friend who, on this particular day, was burying his two sons, 17 and 12 years old. Like many drivers, the boys were in a hurry to get moving one Saturday morning. They lost control of their car as a result of the excessive speed at which they were traveling.
After reflecting on the tragedy, I made a personal commitment to slow down-not only on the road, but in my personal life as well. There have been numerous times I could have avoided mistakes by slowing down. This is something we can all do. It doesn’t mean we have to compromise our work ethic, it simply means we must become aware of everything in our environment.

The current economic and housing environments are obviously creating significant challenges within our business. Our natural tendency is to speed up and work faster to outpace the market decline and our competition.

However, it is absolutely essential to lead by example and instill the culture whereby going faster often doesn’t lead to better results.

Jeff Mandel is president & CEO of iQual Corp. Contact him at Jeff@iqual.com.

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For more best practices, see:

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