Shadowboxing First

They call boxing the "sweet science".  Many have a hard time seeing past the violence and physical destruction that can occur to the participants, but those familiar with the sport understand there's so much more that goes into the movements and strategy of every punch, block, and body movement which is why this term is given to the sport.

My time competing in amateur boxing taught me many lessons - one of which is that showing up to the office with a black eye will make people concerned you have serious personal problems...but that's not what this post is about.  The lesson is simple but important to acknowledge - establish form and technique before trying to master speed.  I find this to be true in business processes as well.

Shadowboxing is a tactic where boxers "fight" an imaginary opponent in front of them, often done in front of a mirror, to spend time moving the body in the proper way without worrying about putting power behind the punches and noticing areas that need to be improved (keeping hands up after the punch is thrown, elbows in, proper rotation thru the feet, etc).  This is very similar to the idea of taking practice swings in golf before stepping up to the tee.  You shouldn't try to be the fastest and most powerful until the techniques and form are well understood.

In growing a team or implementing continuous improvement processes this holds just as true.  Its especially clear in businesses based on development of physical products.  Rushing to finalize a product without a solid understanding of the process or without the proper controls in place have a likely chance it will manifest and reveal itself in a faulty product or poor quality.

Solidify the process, make sure everyone working within it understands it, and only then the speed at which things occur can be honed.  This doesn't mean the process has to have so much control that things take twice as long or flexibility is reduced.  Only that the necessary controls are in place to prevent timelines from spinning off with infinite product tweaking or reviews are performed prior to investing in physical hardware or starting a parallel development path.  Technology startups live and die on their ability to quickly innovate and pivot when necessary so processes can't be perfected, but basic controls can be in place to ensure the worst doesn't happen which can sink product or company reputation.

Just like a boxer must shadowbox to make sure they're keeping their chin down and rotating their hips before they jump into a ring and compete at full speed, businesses should establish the basic technique before moving at full speed.