For the first 6 months of this job, I moved fast—but rarely in the right direction.
I’d jump to redesign the website, promote a polished post, or throw money at something that made our company look like we had it all figured out. But most of it was noise. Looking back, those moves weren’t rooted in strategy. They were rooted in insecurity. We weren’t building— we were decorating.
It wasn’t until our first production where I started working closely with people in the film industry that things started to shift. These were smart, seasoned producers. They didn’t move until they were sure it was the right direction. They talked constantly about protecting the money and only greenlighting something once all the pieces made sense.
At first, I thought they were being overly cautious. But over time, I saw the wisdom: they weren’t afraid to slow down if it meant getting it right.
That changed everything for me.
Now, instead of rushing to look legitimate, I try to focus on doing the work that makes us legitimate: getting new business, delivering value, learning from seasoned business owners, and putting people much smarter and more creative than me in a position to succeed.
Warren Buffett said, “I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business.”
Yes, there are plenty of small decisions in business that require speed. But the art is knowing when to pause and ask the harder question:
Is this move about making me feel better… or making the business better?
If you’re building something meaningful, make space to think. Make space to get it right.
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