The Art Of Productive Impatience

The difference between being pushy and being productively impatient for your projects and career

I ordered some batteries on Amazon the other day to replace the batteries in a toy for my children, and they arrived two hours later.

Two hours and they were on my porch.

As an owner of probably-too-many AMZN shares, this frightened me. The company has to be losing a massive amount of money on these types of orders. The engineer in me was awestruck by the software systems, processes, coordination, and infrastructure necessary to make it happen.

But the Amazon customer in me was absolutely delighted by the fast delivery. So were my kids.

Now, when I order something online and it takes a week or more to arrive, I get annoyed. Amazon has capitalized on a simple human truth: faster is better, even when it isn't strictly necessary. They have systematically rewired my expectations.

This isn't just a business strategy. It's a career strategy.

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