People want to be first. Good examples can be seen any time I drive through town. From every stoplight, people hit the gas, jockey for position, catch the gap behind me and swoop down in front. They hit the gas, their brake lights flash, they bob and weave, and they are still right beside me at the next stoplight. It’s a lot of work for a questionable rate of payout.

I try to drive a little differently. My objective is to flow with traffic while staying off my brakes as much as possible. That requires being much more judicious with the gas pedal – starting off slower, not riding bumpers, looking a little farther ahead, and coasting more. When I see red lights ahead, I try to slow down and coast up until they turn green. It is kind of a game to see how much speed I can hold when others race up and stop.

I generally get through town as fast as the cars around me. I use less gas. I put less wear and tear on my brakes. I have fewer accidents.

If you think of expenses on gas and maintenance as internal resources, green lights as opportunities, red lights as bottlenecks, and accidents as disasters, driving through town is kind of like community and economic development. Generally, racing towards opportunities (green lights) does not get you more green lights or less red lights (bottlenecks). The only certainty is that the constant yo-yo between acceleration and the brakes burns up internal resources.

The race between opportunities and bottlenecks also takes away flexibility. To understand why, think of the journey between opportunities (green lights) and bottlenecks (red lights) as two lines crossing. One is progress towards completion. One is flexibility. When you pass through a green light your progress towards the next light is zero. Your flexibility is one hundred percent. As you move, your progress goes up and your flexibility goes down. The faster you move, the faster your flexibility disappears.

This trade off is always important. It is doubly important when the next milestone is uncertain. The faster you accelerate from the last stoplight, the fewer options you have if the next light becomes a bottleneck (turns red) or if there is a disaster (accident) in your path. There are fewer options to turn off, go around, and avoid delays. The time you expected to save accelerating is irretrievably lost. You have expended more internal resources (gas and maintenance).

Just as driving through town, in economic and community development it pays to stay off the brakes. Accelerate a little more slowly. Make space and options. Focus a little farther ahead.

If you take the time it takes, it takes less time.