Fast Doesn’t Mean Good

We’ve all heard it: "I need it yesterday." Or if you worked in service industry: "I need it on the fly." Or in a hospital: "I need it stat!" Speed has become the ultimate measure of success. How fast can we move? How quickly can we deliver? But here’s the thing: fast doesn’t always mean good.

Think about the last time you got something fast. Was it what you wanted? Was it done well? Or did you end up with something burned, something soggy, something broken, the wrong item? Speed can create mistakes—mistakes that happen because the people doing the work are moving too fast, feeling overwhelmed, or just plain burned out.

When we’re always rushing, we’re not just cutting corners on quality. We’re cutting corners on humanity. The employees behind the scenes—the ones working late, skipping breaks, and sacrificing their own well-being to meet impossible deadlines—are running on fumes. They’re not feeling connection, empathy, or purpose, either from their employers or the customers they’re trying to serve.

It’s a vicious cycle. Speed creates pressure. Pressure creates mistakes. Mistakes create rework, frustration, and a sense of disconnection for everyone involved. And for what? Just to hit a number on a clock?

The truth is, what we really want isn’t just "fast." We want quality. We want care. We want things that are thoughtful, ethically made, and sustainable—products and services that reflect the respect and balance of the people who create them. But "fast" doesn’t mean any of those things. If anything, the pursuit of speed takes us further away from them.

It’s time to rethink what we value. Instead of chasing speed for speed’s sake, what if we focused on doing things better, not just faster? What if we gave people the space to slow down, to rest, and to connect—both with their work and with each other?

We don’t need more hustle. We need more humanity. What do you think?