| In the developed world, we are living in an age when
a lot of things are getting smaller and faster. I guess
most of us like that electronics shrink in size and price
and that e-mail can deliver a message real fast. We slowly
adapt to a 24/7 society, pervasive computing, mobile phones
and "the digital lifestyle".
Society is always ON. Machines get faster and smarter,
but I am not so sure that we humans do. An alarming number
of people get burnt out or feel stressed. Is this the way
it is going to be - forever??
| In 1998 I coined
the phrase The SlowFast Society, to give you an image
of a society that has a balance between things that
would benefit of being slow and those we like to be fast or even faster. |
It is kind of a vision and goal. A vision of a good society
has many dimensions as we all know. Here we focus on the
SlowFast dimension.
The basic assumption and suggestion is that there is a need
to balance the fast and the slow. It is good that technology
helps improve our lives. I am glad that my daughter can
reach me on the mobile phone and that I can send an e-mail
in the middle of the night. The same technology also makes
life more hectic and always on, so to say.
Expected turnaround time for your response to questions
from customers, colleagues and family has decreased. At
work, moments of reflection are increasingly being looked
upon as unproductive.
We are being bombarded by news and are e.g urged to buy
devices to follow stockprices wherever we go. The list could
be expanded and filled with examples. We could add research
reports and stories about the growing number of people who
feel burned out and just can't take it any more.
Slow things down? A possible 'solution' to this
New Stress, (someone will soon start calling it e-stress)
could be to try slowing things down. That is a tough proposition
when you have all these deadlines to reach and want to achieve
so much. But, on the other hand if we want certain
things to go faster and other things to go more slowly,
we need another model. Perhaps like the one below.
SlowFast as a Oneline model
Oneline models are very popular. First I must say that I
refute any similarity to the phrase one-liner, as I think
wittiness stands in the way if you want to be taken seriously.
Let's continue.
Imagine a straight line where we put the word Slow at one
end and the word Fast at the other end. This simple model
suggests that we could achieve a better balance if we move
towards the other pole (depending a bit on where you are
from the beginning).
To make it more realistic, let's say that you need three
oneline models. The first represents your social life, the
second your private life and the third your work life. Now
we have three Oneliners and you may change your SlowFast
mix as you please. That is in theory.
Our goal right now is not to comment on the possible merits
of this metaphor. Let' s change into another metaphor. The
horse-shoe.
SlowFast as a horseshoe model
Maybe it takes another word, but the idea is
to convey an image in which the end points may be closer
to one another that the middle. In this model you may move
both towards the fast side and the slow side at the same
time.
..to be developed
SlowFast - Three zones
Assume a simple model of three zones. Our personal life,
a company or an organisation and society. These zones interact
in all sorts of ways. All these zones show SlowFast characteristics.
Let's take a quick look.
The SlowFast life
| The SlowFast matrix |
High speed |
Low speed |
| High touch |
-- |
++ |
| Low touch |
++ |
- |
We now have a model where we can sort a few of
our ideas and activities. The word 'high touch' signifies
more personal values like friendship, reflection, love etc.
'Low touch' are more mundane things like posting a letter,
buying a ticket, voting, checking into a hotel room etc.
etc.
The concept of the SlowFast Society suggests that certain
things will benefit from getting faster and easier, other
things will benefit from a slower pace. Our experience of
beautiful things, nature and friends will certainly benefit
from a slower pace, whereas reserving a ticket, moving information
and establishing a contact or filing your income statements
will benefit from an easier and faster solution.
. to be developed
The SlowFast top 20 list
What would you like to speed up or slow down
in your life? And where does technology fit into this picture?
This is the simple foundation for a research project I am
now working on.
The SlowFast Organization
Anybody who is interested in getting ahead in an organization,
had better show some signs of speed. Action is highly valued.
The rush into what in the media is referred to as "dotcom
companies" is just an example of activity where the
call for action overrides the need for thinking. As action
in a person is a valued competence, speaking out against
it is sometimes nit wanted.
Nevertheless I think that successful companies need a SlowFast
balance.
To be developed
The SlowFast Society
I guess organizations and Society benefit from people
who feel life is fairly OK. In the SlowFast Society and
the SlowFast Organisation and the SlowFast Reality of our
own lives, we would probably benefit from thinking/filtering
a number of activities etc. in terms of the SlowFast matrix.
SlowFast Technology
New technology very often increases speed. The
debate on SlowFast issues is gaining more visibility these
day. More and more people question how technology really
impacts their life.
We will probably get better at choosing. This will more
often mean saying no. And we will rediscover that devices
of all sorts can be switched off. It is also possible that
technology will be evaluated also on the dimension of how
it impacts society and our lives. Certain technologies should
benefit greatly from such an analysis, others will be more
questioned.
Your comments
are very welcome.
Copyright Johan Schlasberg 1998-2010
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