"But the Greeks recognized another dimension of time entirely: kairos -the right time, the opportune moment, time that's qualitative rather than quantitative. Kairos is the difference between sending an email at 2 a.m. because you can, and sending it when your recipient is most likely to engage meaningfully with your message. It's the difference between filling your calendar with back-to-back meetings versus creating space for the kind of strategic thinking that actually moves the needle."
"When Navy SEALs say "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast," they're describing a mindset that prioritizes precision over speed, preparation over reactive rushing. In high-stakes military operations, moving too quickly can mean missed details, poor communication, and catastrophic failure. The same principle applies to business leadership. Consider the CEO who spends an extra week refining their product strategy rather than rushing to market. That deliberate deceleration often prevents months of costly pivots later."
The modern productivity obsession emphasizes chronos—linear, measurable time defined by deadlines, sprints, and quarterly targets—creating constant urgency and pressure. An alternative temporal frame is kairos—the qualitative, opportune moment to act, optimizing timing for engagement and strategic impact. Elite leaders combine chronos and kairos by deliberately slowing to create space for reflection, precision, and preparation. The Navy SEAL maxim 'slow is smooth, and smooth is fast' encapsulates prioritizing accuracy and rehearsal to avoid costly errors. Deliberate deceleration in planning and decision-making can prevent wasted effort, reduce pivots, and enable faster, more reliable execution when momentum truly matters.
Read at Fast Company
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