037: The fastest reply is not always the fastest solution

Today I noticed something in our communication that I think we can all learn from.

In general, everyone appreciates a responsive person. Someone who gets back to you quickly. Someone you know you won’t have to wait on. And we all know communication is key to leading and getting things done.

It is natural for some of us, especially people pleasers, to try to respond to people quickly. Email, text, Slack, etc.

But if the response is quick and not thorough, it actually creates more messages, more questions, and more work for everyone.

Have you ever noticed this?

What is usually happening is that communication becomes reactive instead of complete.

Instead of one thoughtful update that moves the project forward, it turns into a series of small messages that look like this:

“Should I do this?” “Yes.” “Okay, do you want it today?” “Yes.” “Morning or afternoon?”

Before you know it, a simple decision took five(+) messages.

The irony is that everyone is trying to be helpful and responsive, but the work moves forward in tiny increments instead of decisive steps.

One of the leadership principles we are reinforcing internally right now is this: Think it through. Communicate complete.

In other words, try to solve as much of the next step as possible before hitting send. Think about what the other person needs to get the task all the way done.

Here is why reactive communication causes stalls...

1. It Creates Extra Decision Cycles

If someone replies quickly with partial information, the other person has to respond again.

Example:

Step by step communication: “Should we send the email today?” “Yes.” “Morning or afternoon?” “Morning.” “Do you want me to include the schedule?”

This could have been: “I drafted and scheduled the email for tomorrow morning and included the schedule. Let me know if you would like any changes.”

Same outcome. One message.

2. It Interrupts Deep Work

When people respond instantly, they interrupt their own thinking.

Quick replies often happen before someone has thought through the full solution.

The result is fragmented thinking, smaller steps, and more follow-up messages.

Sometimes waiting ten minutes produces a much better response.

3. It Transfers Thinking Back to the Sender

Highly responsive communication can unintentionally send micro decisions back to the manager or teammate.

Example:

Instead of: “Which of these three options should I do?”

A more efficient message is: “I recommend option B because it solves X and Y. Unless I hear otherwise, I will move forward with that.”

This reduces the number of decisions others must make.

4. It Creates Conversation Chains

Tasks slowly turn into conversations instead of actions.

Each message becomes: Message → clarification → reply → clarification → reply

Instead of: Message → action → update.

5. It Mistakes Speed for Efficiency

Fast replies feel productive because communication is happening.

But productivity comes from reducing the number of steps to completion, not increasing them.

Fast responses are helpful.

But complete communication is what actually moves the business forward.

And sometimes the fastest way to move a project forward is to pause for a minute and think before hitting send.

See you next week, - Casey  PS: I might also send this one to my teenage kids. 😆

🎯 Real Talk - Clarity is the real productivity hack.