Entrepreneurship and Life at the Speed of Slow

Recently I was stopped in my tracks.  Someone I had been talking to about doing something – beat me to it.  What happened?  After all am I not a go getter? A doer? How could I possibly let this happen?  So I stewed a bit…and then I had other things to do that stole my attention away from my angst.

The next day I went to the Boston Social Media Breakfast, whose topic was all about how to make sense of all the information coming at us through social media at such a rapid pace.  It was interesting to hear the speakers but one in particular struck a cord.  Michael Durwin…I’ve been following him on twitter and I like what he has to say.  Even more so, I like the new website he is developing (gathr.me) and am interested to see how it will work.

And while I was pondering all the info flying through cyberspace that I’m sure I’m missing I had a revelation or even better, a sigh of relief:

1) It’s okay if you miss some of it.  If you’re a brand manager, you definitely want to know what people are saying about your brand and maybe your competitors but don’t sweat over everything.   You’re going to miss some things.

2) You don’t have to be first out of the gate.

3) Slower can be better – depending on your goals.

Here’s how I got there.  I have a lot going on in life…we all do.  If I focus on everything going on around me in Social Media I’ll never get out of the house and live my life – so some stuff is going to get missed.    There are plenty of tools to help me manage information…but bottom line…I’m not going to get to it all.  And I’d rather live my life than read about it online.

Also, I’m older now and slower.  I admit it.  I run slower, I take longer to get back to friends, I think things through more and I have more responsibilities day in and day out than I did in my 20’s.  It’s kind of nice…I think I prefer slower, actually and I don’t think I’m alone in that.

Now back to Michael Durwin…he’s got a great idea.  He’s talking about it, has put together a video promoting it and it will be launched….wait for it….in March 2010.  Not tomorrow, not next week not even in six months.  And the fact that he’s almost a year away hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for the project, nor mine, nor many of the people in the room yesterday.

So the fact that a 20-something managed to reach a goal before I did is not a big deal.   I’m still figuring out the best way to accomplish my version of that same goal and I will, and I’ll do it well and if it’s a month from now…no biggie.  After all this isn’t rocket science…it’s workplace flexibility.