The Speed Illusion: Why Thinking Together Beats Rushing Alone
Beyond Fast: Thinking, Aligning, Building
A Note on This Article
This piece is a spontaneous reflection that emerged unexpectedly while I was working on another article titled “Understanding TCO: Beyond the Numbers.” That article itself was inspired by my research into “Ready-Made or Tailor-Made?”, where I briefly touched on the concepts like Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
As I delved deeper, I came across the proverb:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”That simple phrase sparked a cascade of thoughts about collaboration, purpose, and critical thinking in today’s fast-paced business and tech world. What started as a side note soon grew into this deeper exploration, a meditation on the illusion of speed, the power of shared intention, and the forgotten art of thinking together with clarity and common sense.
If you haven’t yet, you might want to check out “Ready-Made or Tailor-Made?” for some background on the ideas that set me on this path.
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
It’s a proverb we’ve all heard, maybe even rolled our eyes at. But in today’s high-velocity business and tech world, it’s more relevant than ever, especially when paired with one essential qualifier:
Go together; but make sure you know where you're going.
The High Cost of Speed Without Clarity
We live in a culture obsessed with speed. Launch fast. Scale fast. Fail fast. Raise fast. We're encouraged to sprint before we’ve fully understood where the track leads or whether the race even matters.
But when speed becomes the only metric, depth suffers.
And when we skip clarity for velocity, we don't build momentum, we manufacture motion sickness.
I’ve seen teams with brilliant people move at full throttle, yet still fall apart. Not from lack of effort or intelligence, but from a lack of shared direction, purpose, and critical thought. They were going fast, yes; but nowhere in particular.
The Hidden Crisis
Swedish researcher Mats Alvesson coined a term that captures a deeply uncomfortable reality playing out across modern institutions:
It describes what happens when capable, intelligent people stop asking questions, avoid reflection, and follow routines without ever challenging their meaning or consequences.
And here’s the harsh truth:
It’s not a glitch; it’s the operating system.
Not just in big corporations, but across the entire bureaucratic web: government agencies, school boards, police departments, healthcare systems, even NGOs and nonprofits.
The more bureaucratic a system becomes, the more it rewards obedience over understanding.
Rules replace reasoning.
Processes replace purpose.
Titles replace thought.
And gradually, almost unnoticed, even well-meaning, smart people stop thinking clearly. Not because they’ve lost the ability, but because they’ve learned that thinking is risky. It’s easier, safer, and more professionally “mature” to just follow the script.
This is functional stupidity in action.
Reflection gets outsourced to consultants.
Honest feedback gets rebranded as negativity.
Dissent gets penalized or quietly frozen out.
Reality becomes filtered through metrics no one really understands but everyone pretends to trust.
And the longer this goes on, the more the system protects itself from truth.
In the name of “efficiency,” we construct machines that suppress wisdom.
In the name of “order,” we create environments that discourage common sense.
Functional stupidity thrives wherever:
Questioning a bad idea is seen as “negative”.
Pointing out waste is considered “rocking the boat”.
Common sense is overridden by blind loyalty to frameworks, OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), and legacy playbooks.
The Forgotten Art of Common Sense
Somewhere along the way, common sense lost its seat at the table.
We replaced it with complexity theater: overly abstract strategies, endless jargon, and performative alignment rituals that leave people more confused than connected.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
It’s possible to be highly intelligent, incredibly busy, and still completely misaligned with what actually matters.
We don’t need more productivity hacks. We need people willing to pause and ask:
Does this make sense?
Who actually benefits from this?
Is this solving a real problem, or just keeping us busy?
The Power of Thinking Together
Going far doesn’t mean going slow. But it does mean moving with awareness.
When teams have a clear, lived understanding of the mission, the value being created, and the goal they’re serving, something profound happens:
Silos start breaking down.
Feedback becomes more honest.
Time isn’t wasted on misaligned efforts.
Innovation becomes natural, not forced.
But that only happens when people are empowered to think, not just execute.
We need more environments where:
Critical thinking is encouraged, not punished.
Street smarts are valued alongside credentials.
Disagreement is welcomed, not suppressed.
"Why?" is a respected question, not a threat.
The Future Belongs to the Aware
In a world addicted to fast answers, shallow consensus, and constant motion, the real competitive edge is this:
Thinking. Together.
Not just moving, but moving with shared intention.
Not just agreeing, but aligning through real understanding.
Not just building, but building something worth reaching.
Because at the end of the day, it’s not the team that moves the fastest that wins.
It’s the one that moves with the most clarity, courage, and consciousness.