BrewDog operated on "dog years," a philosophy of extreme speed. The goal was to accomplish tasks in a fraction of the time a normal company would take (e.g., one day instead of one week). This urgency, combined with adaptability, was fundamental to their rapid growth and nimbleness.
The fastest-growing founders achieve outlier results not by working more hours, but by operating differently. They identify the single biggest bottleneck (e.g., low sales close rate), generate high-volume opportunities to test it (e.g., five sales calls a day), and then iterate on their process with extreme speed (e.g., reviewing and shipping changes every two days).
CEO Dylan Field combats organizational slowness by interrogating project timelines. He seeks to understand the underlying assumptions and separate actual work from "well-intentionally added" padding. This forces teams to reason from first principles and justify the true time required, preventing unnecessary delays.
As startups hire and add structure, they create a natural pull towards slower, more organized processes—a 'slowness gravity'. This is the default state. Founders must consciously and continuously fight this tendency to maintain the high-velocity iteration that led to their initial success.
True business success comes from combining long-term strategic patience with urgent, daily execution. Be fast in daily activities, like learning new marketing platforms, but patient with your overall vision, avoiding reckless expansion. This dual mindset balances ambition with sustainability.
In a competitive market, prioritizing speed forces a team to be resourceful and figure out how to maintain quality under pressure. This mindset prevents the design team from becoming a bottleneck and keeps the company's momentum high.
During technological bubbles or periods of intense change, it's possible to accomplish seven to ten years of work in one. This 'dog years' effect offers a unique opportunity for compressed learning and value creation, even if the specific venture fails. The key is embracing the frenetic pace.
BrewDog's core philosophy was that combining an ambitious goal with a significant constraint (like budget or time) forces unconventional thinking. This prevents startups from just becoming mini-versions of incumbent competitors, which is a recipe for failure.
To create a high-velocity culture, managers must actively pull deadlines forward. Don't just accept a proposed timeline. Ask what's blocking it, question the actual work hours required, and repeatedly challenge why it can't be done sooner.
To escape the operational hamster wheel, create artificial constraints. By mandating that all work gets done in four days instead of five, you force efficiency and create a dedicated day for working *on* your business, not just *in* it.
For teams in hyper-competitive spaces like AI, speed is not a goal but a necessity. The team's mindset is that there is no alternative to shipping fast; it's the only way to operate, learn, and stay relevant. This isn't a choice, but a requirement for survival.