Slow and Steady, ___?___ the race !!!!!!

Well, well, well. Where, or for that matter of fact, when do you think you heard this phrase before? Bingo, you guessed it. Its the famous saying, "Slow and Steady, wins the race".We all have definately heard it from our grandmothers in childhood. Life used to be a breeze then. Nothing to do, just feed the stomach, sleep as long as you like, and just laze around. Hmmm, from the word 'laze', it does strike you about the hare, doesn't it? Poor fellow, had he not 'lazed' around, he would have clearly been the winner, and we all would have been deprived of a classic in childhood. They say, children are quick learners and remember better than their adults. Well, the saying "Slow and Steady..." has impinged with such force, that we dont quite seem to harbor any intentions of parting ways with it. Its a nice little support to hang on to( especially for the elite group of lazy chaps, me included), until you enter the big bad world, where this very saying suddenly experiences the force of gravity, and comes crashing down. Wait a minute, maybe I took my stance too early. Anyways, lets discuss it.

First things first, Where does this phrase come from? Well, it is from the story "The hare and the tortoise", which is one of the many Aesop's Fables. What one needs to remember, is the time frame of when this story was given birth OR when we heard it, and the present. The difference lies in the wide open vacuum of competion. In a way, we all are competing to win a race. The choice we need to make is, do we want to be the hare or the tortoise? Forget what happened in the story. Miracles don't happen always. The competition is now at its pinnacle, infact it has even dared to surpass the tip. In an organization, there are hundreds and thousands of employees. Each set or group of employees are given a particular task. This is similar to the finish line. The scenario now is such that, each employee tries to find short cuts and much efficient and faster ways, so that he can cover longer strides with the same sized feet. The finish line, for the person who emulates the hare, appears within striking distance.

But hang on, Fables contain valuable sayings, which are meant to be learnt. The crux of the matter is, the advice to be imbued is not "Be slow and steady and you will ultimately win", but its "Dont lift the pedal on the accelerator". No divertions untill the goal is achieved.So, if in the present scenario, if we behave like the tortoise, then I am must regret that our promotion will happen after our hairs turns grey (Or the hare becomes old, ha ha, that was a good one). We might even be demoted or worse, thrown out. Nowadays, no one wants a tortoise or better yet, a slow coach. Company heads rely on dynamic and quick thinkers, who want to only increaase their speed. Even sky should not be the limit, forget a simple finish line.

Its true, slow and steady, does work in some situations, but these situations are like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Speed is in, slow is out. Of course, no compromise on quality otherwise the entire exercise of speed will prove to be futile. The second lesson, which is quite evident to all of us, is that overconfidence never pays. Infact it depletes your pay. By the time you woud be counting your unhatched eggs, your competitor may have passed by, as happened in the story. Some might argue, that the main reason for the hare to lose the race was its overconfidence. But then, the hare knew who its competitor was. Nowadays, no one can be underestimated. Everyone is equally capable.So overconfidence doesn't quite come into the picture. Its just an added caution.

So I think thats about it from here. I would like to know, what you all still follow and what you want to follow in the future. So, lets have it from you, my friends.