Overheard a foreman say something that stuck with me

I was grabbing lunch near a site in Austin last Tuesday and heard a foreman tell his guy "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" while they were rigging a load. That hit different because I always rush my crane picks to get them done quick. Took a step back on my next lift and got it placed perfect in one try instead of three shaky adjustments. Any of you guys have a quote that changed how you work on site?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciareed15d agoProlific Poster

Man I've been on that same page more times than I care to admit. Used to think speed was everything on site until an old electrician told me "you don't have time to do it twice" while watching me strip a wire too fast and botch it. Took me a while to really get what he meant but now I slow way down on anything that matters and somehow get more done by the end of the day. My foreman still jokes about how I used to be a bull in a china shop but now I'm one of the faster guys simply because I don't make myself backtrack. That "slow is smooth" line is gold when you're dealing with heavy loads or tight tolerances, saved me more than a few headaches on lifts where one bad move means starting over.

hall.nina15d ago

Oh man that old electrician was spot on. I used to be the same way, thinking faster meant better, until I had to redo a whole afternoon's work because I rushed a measurement. That "slow is smooth" idea really does change how you see the whole job, doesn't it?

brian_rivera5913d agoTop Commenter

Yeah that whole "slow is smooth" thing is one of those that sounds stupid until you actually try it. I had a guy tell me once that he's never seen anyone win a race by tripping over their own feet, and that pretty much sums it up for me. Rushing just makes you work twice, you know? If you take the extra thirty seconds to set up right the first time, you end up saving way more than that in the long run. It's like the universe's way of telling you to chill out and actually think for a second.