Panic from the Wrong Tarmac

I had two events I was speaking at in back-to-back weeks. I woke up one morning a few weeks ago and realized I had better get going on booking those flights, so I figured no better time than the present. I snagged my phone, wiped the sleep from my eyes, opened the American app, remembered where and when the events were, and quickly booked the flights before I started my normal routine. Done. Moving on.

As the plane made its final approach in DC yesterday, I thought it wise to double-check the hotel that was hosting the conference. The Dallas Omni, my calendar said. Hmm, that's odd, I thought Dallas was next week. I checked next week's event, and sure enough, that one is in Dallas also. Well done, I was landing in DC, not Dallas! The last time I spoke at this event, it was in DC, so I just assumed...

"Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." (Proverbs 19:2)

After choking back down the panic that tried to engulf me, I laughed at myself, considered my options, and went to work on the next right thing. Thankfully, I'm a freak about avoiding overnight stays whenever possible, so I typically book super early and super late flights so I had a little time baked into my schedule. I discovered there was a flight from DCA to DFW taking off in about 30 minutes, just a few gates down from the one I was pulling into. I ran over, acted like a pathetic child in need of help, got on the flight, and made it to the stage in Dallas just in time.

Accuracy over speed. 

Slow down and do it right the first time. That's wisdom. Racing through your work just to get it off your plate is immature personal leadership. It's costly and causes mistakes that you or others have to clean up. Trust me, I have the T-shirt.

Think about rushing through a pre-approval only to find out later that the borrower doesn't qualify. How about slamming a loan into underwriting or closing, only to have to chase down a bunch of avoidable conditions or last-minute corrections? It may get done, but the experience for the customer is not good. Firing off an email out of emotion or without spell check, or making a rash decision without all the facts… (have that T-shirt also). As Navy pilots like to say, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. You want to wow a family with a super-fast experience, so slow down and make it smooth. 

And when you do make a mistake, don't panic, don't lie about it, don't cover it up. Laugh at yourself, you are beautifully imperfect. Gather knowledge, assess your options, and just do the next right thing.  

I guess we ought to slow down a bit and get more done.