Last week, I graduated from Leadership Denver (Class of 2015: Best Class Ever!). One of our speakers on the final day was Kelly Brough, President and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. Kelly‘s words of wisdom included, “Go slow to go fast!”

She was talking about “process.”

As a consultant, I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I despise process. In my personal life, I’m not good at it at all. If I purchase something from IKEA, I tend to start trying to put it together before reading all of the instructions (PSA: BIG mistake!). Before heading off into the woods on a hike, I don’t always look at the trail map. I hammer the nails into the wall before I’ve figured out if the picture is straight or at the right height. I’m eager to jump in and just start doing.

But as a consultant, I’m a facilitator of the process. I think about what my clients want to see happen, and I carefully build a plan to ensure that we achieve success. And as Kelly shared with my LD class last Friday, the process gives us time to build relationships and trust – two key items that will eventually lead to action. Pace is everything. If you go too fast, the relationships don’t develop and trust can erode. And so it makes sense: put in the effort up front to set yourself up for success. Go slow – and eventually you can make things happen at lightening speed.