Tempo – yet another dimension of temporality

Many years ago my piano teacher introduced me to the metronome, and its use as an aid to practicing. I started slowly at first, and then sped up as I grew more confident with either my sight reading or my familiarity with the particular piece of music I was learning.

As you may be aware, the metronome is a variable speed clock that audibly sounds the beats per minute (bpm) so that the learner instrumentalist doesn’t have to keep track of the tempo in their head. Like the drummer in a band, it sets the pace and rhythm at which the music is played. The speed is variable between 40 and 208 bpm because the pendulum or pivot which marks the time is double-weighted. While the lower concealed weight is fixed, the upper weight can be moved up or down the pivot to increase or decrease the tempo.

Applying the concept of variable speed to nonprofit work coordination, the metronome can be used as a metaphor for adjusting speed according to the knowledge, skill, and confidence of the team member or volunteer performing a particular role or task. We don’t expect a novice or beginner to work at the same speed, or with the same ‘efficiency’, as a proficient or expert team member.

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”

In the chapter titled ‘Slow Down – to Go Faster’, of Ryan Holiday’s book, Discipline is Destiny (Profile Books, 2022), he notes:

“It’s easy to go fast. It is not always best.
They like to say in the military that slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Do it right and it goes quickly. Try to go too quickly and it won’t go right.” (p.55)

Ryan Holiday

This sentiment is echoed in Thomas M Sterner’s book The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in your life” (New World Library, 2012):

“Progress is a natural result of staying focused on the process of doing anything. When you stay on purpose, focused in the present moment, the goal comes towards you with frictionless ease. However, when you constantly focus on the goal you are aiming for, you push it away instead of pulling it toward you. In every moment that you look at the goal and compare your position to it, you affirm to yourself that you haven’t reached it. In reality, you need to acknowledge the goal to yourself only occasionally using it as a rudder to keep you moving in the right direction.” (pp.85-86)

Thomas M Sterner

Sterner emphasises the importance of a mindful approach to time and tasks, stressing that true mastery and efficiency come from a focused and patient mindset. Rather than viewing time as a pressure or constraint, he encourages us to appreciate the process and find joy in the journey of improvement.

He offers his 4’S’ Method (Simplify, Short, Slow, and Small), illustrated below, as a means of developing your focus and discipline, and consequently, the quality of the outcomes you achieve.

The 10,000 hours rule

Malcolm Gladwell said something similar to Sterner in his book Outliers: The Story of Success (Brown & Co, 2008).

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you are good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

Malcolm Gladwell

In that same book, Gladwell highlights the notion that 10,000 hours are required to become an expert at anything. Of course, the quality of attention to skill development over those 10,000 notional hours would be a key determinant of whether you actually had developed expertise, but there would generally be no argument with the idea that substantial practice is required to become good at anything.

Smarter Faster Better Vs Deliberate and Steady

In “Smarter Faster Better: The Transformative Power of Real Productivity” (Penguin Random House, 2017) author Charles Duhigg explores various aspects of productivity, including temporal considerations. Some of his key points are highlighted in the chart below:

Overall, Duhigg’s insights emphasise the importance of mindset, planning, and intentional decision-making in optimising the use of time for enhanced productivity. Somewhat different from Sterner in his approach, he nonetheless underscores the importance of minimising cognitive load for improved time efficiency. By reducing mental strain through habits and organisational systems, you can enhance your decision-making and productivity.

Fast and slow thinking

In “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Daniel Kahneman explores the concept of two systems that drive our thinking: System 1, the fast and intuitive mind, and System 2, the slow and deliberate mind. Kahneman illustrates how these systems influence our decision-making and perception of time. For instance, System 1 leads to quick, instinctive judgments, while System 2 involves more thoughtful and deliberate consideration of information.

While Kahneman delves into the cognitive processes affecting our perception of time, Sterner’s perspective is rooted in mindfulness, urging individuals to embrace each moment with purpose and concentration. Both authors offer valuable insights into understanding and optimising our relationship with time, but from distinct angles – one through cognitive psychology and the other through mindfulness and deliberate practice.

Timing principles

The chart below summarises a set of timing principles outlined by Denis Waitley in his book ‘Timing is Everything: Turning Your Seasons of Success into Maximum Opportunities‘ (The Business Library, 1992). While this book is over 3 decades old, its advice remains entirely valid today.

We use planning and reporting cycles to manage our work and to oversee progress toward desired outcomes. At a personal level, our approach to time management can also use self-imposed seasons or cycles to plan the achievement of our personal goals.

Tempo changes for effect

Doing the same thing at the same speed for extended periods can lead to attention lapses – a form of ‘zoning out‘ due to the monotony of the task.

Just as composers use tempo changes to evoke different responses in the audience or performer, the board and management can choose to vary the pace on some aspects of the strategy to help the team responsible for achieving that goal remain focused and engaged.

Trouble at the Agile Camp

A thought-provoking 2022 article by Miriam Posner highlights growing concern at the impact on productivity of Agile management methods.

The Agile Manifesto, formulated in the early 2000s, marked a shift in software development philosophy, rejecting rigid, top-down approaches in favor of flexibility and collaboration. In the minds of some observers, the original Facebook motto ‘Move fast and break things‘ was emblematic of Agile thinking.

Embraced by many, Agile’s decentralised model faced resistance from traditional management paradigms. While initially liberating, some critics now argue that Agile has evolved into a restrictive and stressful system, especially as it became an industry standard and as its use expanded beyond software development to many other functional areas. Its relentless use of sprints and ‘manufactured time pressure’ can distract workers from creative endeavours and achieving quality outcomes.

Posner suggests that developers and other team members express concerns about burnout, surveillance in daily standups, and the commodification of their work. Additionally, the manifesto’s limited diversity perspective may contribute to toxic work cultures. Where Agile becomes integral, the tension between autonomy and corporate goals raises questions about its true impact on workforce engagement and the potential for a future crisis instigated by the workers themselves.

These tensions highlight the conflict between methods that seem to be based on top-down demands (extrinsic motivation) and those promoting more productive engagement by team members, which rely on personal commitment (intrinsic motivation). See also Sterner’s warning above about the demotivational risks of constantly focussing on goals you have not yet reached. The ‘White Rabbit’ lessons illustrated below may also be relevant.

Summing up

In line with the observations in this post about practice, fluency (and speed) are enhanced with continued application and attention to the process. Too much focus on target dates and endpoints can result in hastily completed work, and this usually means poorer quality work. This can be said of nonprofit governance as much as for musical skill or technical proficiency in any field.

Reflective governance is a form of reflective practice that is performed by directors collectively.

Given how significant practice is for success, especially with its focus on process and quality, the adaptation of Malcolm Gladwell’s quote (in the header chart above) is offered for reflection by nonprofit directors.

See also:
Temporal sensemaking and reflective governance
Temperament and Temporality
‘Time is of the essence’: Temporal factors in NFP Productivity
Fusing experience and expectation in decision-making

POSTSCRIPT:

If you are reading this on your holiday, the title holds a message for you 🙂