In Crisis – Slow is Fast

So my wife and I were traveling north on Interstate 75 leaving Florida, when we came upon an accident. Two retirees riding in a motorcycle and accompanying carriage flipped over at a high rate of speed. We were one of the first to arrive as bedlam was just settling in. Blood was everywhere.

My wife, who spent over 20 years in the medical field, began to triage the two. When we approached the gentleman we could see directly into his knee cap. His leg was torn open. We looked and saw his wife’s bottom lip hanging down from under her helmet. A horrific scene.

My wife directed onlookers to immediately call 911. When the helicopter landed and the ambulance drove up something became apparent to me. Nobody was rushing.

Amateur onlookers were crying, gasping and running back and forth. But the professionals were moving intentionally with little talk. Saying only that which added clarity for their colleagues around them. It was almost as if the panicked environment required a peaceful offset. In crisis, slow is fast.

This doesn’t mean one shouldn’t move with haste. It means one must move with seasoned precision, and many times precision takes time. The two accident victims survived because of the “slow moving” medical professionals. Never let a crisis tempt you into unthoughtful action just for action sake.