Large enterprises navigate a critical paradox with new technology like AI. Moving too slowly cedes the market and leads to irrelevance. However, moving too quickly without clear direction or a focus on feasibility results in wasting millions of dollars on failed initiatives.

Running an organization at maximum capacity is brittle. Plaid intentionally builds in 'spare capacity,' accepting some inefficiency as a cost. This allows them to quickly marshal resources towards emergent opportunities, like AI, without disrupting existing high-growth initiatives.

As companies grow, decision-making can slow down due to ambiguity. Plaid combats this by explicitly naming one person as the on-point decision-maker for every task at the conclusion of meetings. This clarifies accountability and accelerates execution.

Counterintuitively, implementing formal processes like documented decision-making (e.g., a RAPID framework) early on increases a startup's velocity. It creates a clear, universally understood system for making decisions, preventing delays caused by ambiguity or passive-aggressive managers.

In safety-critical fields like autonomous driving, leadership's primary challenge is managing the dual pressures of rapid innovation and deliberate caution. The goal is to maximize speed without compromising the necessary slowness required for safety, making this balance the top concern.

Separate product development into two phases. The problem-finding and decision-making phase should remain slow and deliberate to ensure quality. However, once a decision is committed, AI tools should be leveraged to make the execution and feedback loops as fast as possible.

When building AI for high-stakes domains like payroll, you must balance rapid innovation ('gas') with unwavering reliability ('brakes'). While teams can move fast on prototyping, the core promise of compliance and trust is non-negotiable, requiring safeguards, deep expertise, and risk-based rollouts.

To reconcile the need for speed with the necessity of a thorough process, Chipotle's CBO uses legendary coach John Wooden's mantra: 'Be quick, but don't hurry.' This philosophy allows the team to maintain a sense of urgency without rushing, which leads to skipping steps and making critical errors. It's about efficient speed, not haste.

Don't accept the excuse that moving faster means sacrificing quality. The best performers, particularly in engineering, deliver both high speed and high quality. Leaders should demand both, framing it as an expectation for top talent, not an impossible choice.