“Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast” – Jim Collins, in Great by Choice

 

These words from Jim Collins echo something I have been known to say to members of our team: “You have to go slow to go fast.” But Jim’s phrasing struck me differently when I read it — and it connects directly to one of the core principles of Agile and the Scrum framework: sustainable pace.

 

(Sidebar — as would any other writer, I went down the rabbit hole to see who originated “go slow to go fast,” and the answer is Peter Senge, in his book The Fifth Discipline. No wonder I use that phrase; it is in my “Read” list on Goodreads.)

 

What “Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast” Means for Nonprofits

 

When I’ve used “you have to go slow to go fast” in the past, it’s been in the context of taking your time on the small details and not cutting corners — because shortcuts slow you down in the long run.

 

Reading this quote in Jim’s book Great by Choice, I saw two layers of insight:

• Taking time on the small things will speed you up in the long run
• And slow, steady progress produces great results that — to others — often appear to be fast, even surprising, change

 

This is precisely what Agile and the Scrum framework make possible for nonprofit teams. Rather than sprinting unsustainably toward every deadline, Scrum builds in a rhythm of consistent, focused work — what we call a sustainable pace. Download our free Sustainable Pace Guide to explore how to use data to ensure your team is working at a pace that is both effective and sustainable.

 

Sustainable Pace in Action: A Real-World Example

 

Doing the same task each and every day — or week, or other short time period — might seem slow. But it is typically sustainable and smooth. The task itself isn’t necessarily easy, but it becomes a sustainable habit, almost second nature.

 

As with many of my analogies, my mind went straight to running. I’ve written plenty about my love of running, but I haven’t written much about how I inherited that love from my dad — or how I’ve passed it on to my youngest daughter, Annabelle.

 

This past year, she said she wanted to run a half-marathon. That wasn’t out of reach — she had run varsity cross country the fall before, with long runs topping out around a 90-minute, out-and-back tempo run. With a few tweaks, she would be ready. But getting to that 90-minute run took an entire season of training: long runs, fartleks, core workouts, strength training days, and — something I’ll admit I’ve never been great at — rest days.

 

Those daily, “slow” actions positioned her to keep building through a thankfully mild upstate New York winter, so that by mid-May, she was more than ready for her first half-marathon. To friends and neighbors in our community who hadn’t seen her training all fall and hadn’t spotted her bundled up, zig-zagging our small town streets all winter and spring — it looked fast. Surprising, even. She crossed the finish line and won her age category (18 & under) at just 15 years old. Her slow, smooth, and steady approach had led directly to that result.

 

How Agile Helps Nonprofits Build Sustainable Momentum

 

What does Annabelle’s story bring to mind for you? Whether you’ve ever laced up running shoes or not, I’m confident you’ve worked toward something — personally or professionally — that felt slow and steady to you, but looked fast and impressive to others.

 

That is the essence of sustainable pace in nonprofit work. The Scrum framework helps nonprofit teams build this kind of consistent momentum: showing up, doing the work in short focused cycles (called Sprints), reflecting on what’s working, and improving as you go.

 

📥 Want to start building that rhythm on your team? Download our free Getting Started with Scrum Checklist and the Retrospective Guide to learn how to reflect, adapt, and keep improving.

 

📥 If you’re working to bring Agile into your organization, the Building Buy-In for Agile Guide can help you champion this approach with leadership and your team.

 

I’d love to hear your examples of slow-and-smooth leading to fast results. Share them in the comments below or reach out at diane@dhleonardconsulting.com.

 

This blog was updated on 3/18/2026