How to execute faster

What are the concepts / attitudes / traits related to speed of execution?

That's what I asked myself and here's my (non-definitive) list.

Personal responsibility (personal, interpersonal)

If you clearly know that you have the power and authority to make a decision, you will hesitate less and won't have to ask anyone else to do so.

Trust (interpersonal)

You'll be more decisive when you trust others will do their part without extra supervision and are in turned trusted.

Lack of punishment (interpersonal / cultural)

You'll make decisions faster if you don’t have to worry about personal attacks by and judgment of others.

Dynamism (= a pattern of making and not fearing changes)

You will move faster if you make changes often and are at peace with them.

We’ll figure it out (belief / attitude)

A belief that whatever comes at you, you will be equipped to deal with (minimizes psychological downside).

Deflating challenge level (can-do attitude)

By believing that something is possible and fairly easy, you will be less reluctant to start. "This should be fairly straightforward." vs "This is gonna be hard."

Doing = reconnaissance (attitude)

Knowing that if you make decisions and move forward, you will gain more information than you had before and be able to course-correct.

Ask for forgiveness, not permission (attitude)

You won't delay by getting approval from others but just move forward in a more straightforward way.

Urgency (process attribute)

You will hesitate less if you have a deadline close or a meeting where you will be held accountable.

Frequent mistake: no time limit to work (--> Parkinson's Law).

Fast feedback (process attribute)

You'll move faster if you know that you will have clear results in 5 min and can re-evaluate and course-correct (minimizes ambiguity).

Visually compelling scoreboard (process artifact, see 4DX)

If you understand the metrics you're trying to improve on a visual level, you feel it more viscerally and are more motivated to make the lines go up.

Clear goal (process artifact, clearly defined and articulated objective)

If you can articulate to yourself and others your current goal with clarity and precision, then you're likely to summon more energy to reach it.
 "Just 10 more calls"

Compelling vision (process artifact, an image of an exciting future)

If you have a compelling vision that you believe in personally, then you can keep moving forward even in tough times.

A clear bottom line (or North Star - process artifact, priority)

Have a clear metric, test, or value that you can use to gauge options. E. g.: if you have an education program and student results are priority no. 1 for you, when it comes to decision making, you can always ask: does it make our students better? If yes, that clarifies the decision making process.

Reversibility (mental distinction)

Easier to make a decision when you know you can undo it in 5 seconds or 5 min.

Taken from Jeff Bezos one-way door / two-way door decision metaphor.

Making all options good (mental trick - inspired by @patrickc on @tferriss)

You will be less hesitant when all your options are awesome. ("If don't do it, nothing bad will happen. If I do it and fail, I will have learned that . If I do it and succeed, it'll be awesome.")

Eliminating recurring decisions (mental trick)

Find recurring decisions that aren't essential to what you need to do and make 1 decision for all the future ones. E. g. Mark Zuckerberg wearing only 1 type of T-shirt.

Creating finite and few options (practice)

You'll make a faster and better decision if you’re choosing between A and B and don’t have to worry about the rest of the alphabet.

Opposite: creating no definite concrete options or having too many options to choose from (choice paralysis).

Trying the simple solution first (practice)

You will move faster if you aren’t creating unnecessarily robust solutions. Maybe other use cases can wait before you got 1 right.

Frequent error: creating a comprehensive solution before a basic one is in place.