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Go Slow to Go Fast: A Developer’s Take from the Tortoise and the Hare

The concept of “go slow to go fast” has stuck with me since I was a kid, staring at the pages of a storybook, wondering how on earth a tortoise could beat a hare. Even now, that phrase echoes in my mind, especially in the fast-paced world of ecommerce development.

Deliverables, deadlines, and expectations loom large. It’s easy to fall into the trap of rushing through problems, convinced that speed will save the day. The goal? To finish as quickly as possible and avoid being the reason something stalls, fails, or snowballs into a costly issue down the road.

But here’s the paradox: rushing rarely gets us to the finish line faster. Instead, it creates inefficiencies, mistakes, and technical debt—problems that slow us down and frustrate the very teams we’re trying to help.

When I catch myself falling into this mindset, I try to return to the fundamentals and lean on what I like to call “powerfully boring” concepts like go slow to go fast. These ideas might not be flashy, but they’ve stood the test of time for a reason: they work.

The Danger of Rushing

Rushing feels productive in the moment. You dive headfirst into the problem, hammer out a solution, and move on. But that kind of momentum is often an illusion. Haste creates cracks that might not be visible right away but inevitably widen under the weight of a project.

Here’s what rushing can cost you:

• Missed Details: Skimming over requirements or edge cases can lead to incomplete solutions.
• Technical Debt: Cutting corners might seem like a shortcut, but it’s often just a detour to a bigger, messier problem later.
• Team Friction: Errors caused by rushing don’t just affect you—they ripple out, slowing down teammates and creating frustration.

The irony is that the time you “save” by rushing is usually spent cleaning up the mess you made in the process.

Why "Go Slow to Go Fast" Works

Slowing down doesn’t mean dragging your feet—it means taking the time to craft solutions to the best of your abilities. It’s about clarity, intentionality, and trusting that a deliberate approach will get you to the finish line faster, with fewer headaches, bugs, and more time to shoot the shit.

Here’s why this mindset matters:

• Precision Leads to Speed: Slowing down to fully understand a problem often uncovers solutions that are cleaner and faster in the long run. I want to write code that, years later, is dusty as hell because it was built so well it doesn’t need coddling. That’s the dream.
• You Avoid Rework: Thoughtful planning and execution reduce the need to revisit and fix rushed work later. Less rework means more progress and fewer "quick fixes" turning into long-term headaches.
• You Build Resilience: Well-crafted solutions stand up better to the pressures of scaling and evolving. Code that’s built thoughtfully doesn’t crumble under the weight of future requirements—it adapts.
• Team Buy-In Drives Quality: Getting your team invested in this mindset creates efficiencies and leads to higher-quality solutions. When everyone takes the time to consider various perspectives, the result is more thoughtful work that fits seamlessly into the bigger picture. It’s not just about what you build; it’s about enabling your teammates to extend and configure it in ways that amplify the brand mission.

In ecommerce, collaboration is key. Slowing down to communicate and align with your team might feel counterintuitive in the moment, but it’s an investment in solutions that work not just for now, but for what comes next.

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