Dubstep to Conclusions!

While living in France, I was introduced to the world of Dubstep—an electronic dance music genre that fuses hypnotic slow movements with explosive, high-energy transitions. It’s more than music though; it’s a decision-making philosophy. Slow, deliberate thinking leads to quick, confident action, while rushed thinking results in slow, costly mistakes.

Too often, people jump to conclusions—rushing to judgment and making snap decisions shaped by unchecked biases. Great decision-making requires slowing down to listen, taking time to seek truth, and stepping back to learn new perspectives.

When problems arise, urgency may tempt us to react, but the real move is to slow down just enough to think critically and act with precision. Thus, the more clearly we define the problem to solve, the more efficient and effective our resulting actions will be.

Albert Einstein once wisely advised: "If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes."

In engineering project management, the cost of mistakes skyrockets once design is locked and metal is cut. I worked with a regional project team that, after start-up, realized they had specified the wrong material of construction for the process, resulting in millions lost and months wasted rebuilding a facility corroding from the inside out.

Thus, spending extra time in the feasibility phase to peer review specifications, debate different viewpoints, and resolve disagreements is invaluable. In general, it is usually preferred to have a team disagree and commit than to have a leader decide and enforce.

Great leaders know a committed team executes the quickest, but they also know you can’t have a committed team without quality time for safe, candid, and respectful disagreement (@Margaret Heffernan). My best projects have started "slow" with lots of open critique, peer reviews, and dialogue, but ended lightning "quick" because of team alignment!

So next time you’re faced with a decision, don't jump—dubstep. Slow down to review the facts—like a dancer easing into the rhythm. Step back to confront biases—like pulling away before the drop. Then move forward with quick, decisive action—like hitting the beat with precision.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

And when it's time to act, take a cue from Greg Nice & Smooth B: "sometimes I rhyme slow sometimes I rhyme quick." The key is knowing when to do which.

My kids are professionals at dubstep dancing, like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXO-jKksQkM

© Nuri Dimler 2025