Speed of work in corporate vs startups

In corporate life, there’s generally an average speed things move and progress along, because people are paid a fixed salary, so in the long run, people work at a rate that they’re paid for. If they want to get promoted, they work better or faster at the next level first.

Whereas for startups and fast growing businesses, they’re funded by investment dollars so it’s in their incentive to work as fast or efficient as possible to make the most of that runway, because time or money is running out and they got to generate some sales or revenue to keep going.

It’s kind of like driving in an expressway. There are lots of cars and people have to give way from time to time. That’s like in corporate work where people depend on each other to do their assigned tasks before passing onto the next department. Whereas startups are like this single car in the fast lane trying to get ahead as fast as they can, weaving in or out of traffic. Dangerous and risky, but potentially more rewarding by saving time and getting to the destination faster.

I’ve driven in both lanes before. The slow and steady lane to watch the world go by, listen to podcasts and long videos essays, and chat with people in the car. I’ve also driven in the fast lane by overtaking even slower cars in this lane just to get ahead faster. It required intense concentration and reaction time to not crash. Generally it’s ok for short bursts of time but it’s not sustainable for long because we’ll literally burn out and ironically take longer to get to our destinations if or when we get into an accident.

So choose wisely. It’s good to operate at the top efficient speed as an agile business which is around 100kmh for most cars to get most mileage out of fuel and without getting into much trouble. Whereas going at 50kmh is like corporate work or relaxing drives and cruising alone to drag out time during weekdays for the weekends and holidays.