Move Fast and Break Things?
Helpful For Software Design, But Not for Humans, Communities, or Ecosystems
Do you know the ethos of software development and design? To “move fast and break things” when you start?
It’s in the Silicon Valley Bible.1 To get to a “minimal viable product” according to Human-centered Design, you start with a limited budget, and build a rough prototype.
In theory, it helps us take action and test our ideas. Do they work? Can we make something helpful for our “users” to solve their problem?
The mindset can be helpful, since we often overthink our ideas instead of taking action and testing them. Back in my medical device days, we used it to pilot test our ideas, not only products, but also processes.
However, when it comes to programs that are working for many people who are served by them, moving fast and breaking things is potentially fatal. Even Harvard Business Review said that this era is over (and this was in 2019). Instead of MVP standing for minimal viable product, they argue for minimal virtuous products instead.
It’s time for us to fully internalize that human beings are NOT products. I took this stand meaningfully when I decided to stop most social media use over a year ago (primarily Instagram and Facebook). I heard someone on a podcast2 say “if you’re not paying for the product, you ARE the product.”
Whoa.
Stopped me in my tracks.
Your data are being mined on the social platforms to sell things to you.
You probably know this abstractly. I did also. It seemed harmless. Then I read Johan Hari’s Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again. The book wasn’t a panacea for my attention issues. But it helped me see through the assumptions I had about being able to “control” my social media use. In fact, I could relate to times it felt like it controlled me.
These platforms are designed to exploit our brain chemistry. Nir Eyal has written extensively about this, ironically writing the book on how to “hook” people, and possible remedies in Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Your Life.
Overthinking is not my friend. But when I move too fast, and truly don’t think through what I’m doing? I break things like coffee cups, frienships, and toenails.
This hasn’t happened much lately. I see the folly of being duped into moving faster than the natural pace of my own embodiment. This is where capitalism lies, claiming we are not enough unless we are constantly producing.
You are enough.
You are enough right now, as you are.
You are enough even if you needed to stay home, take a nap, and tend to your health today.
You can never do more to earn your worthiness to be here. Your inherent worthiness cannot be earned, and is divinely bestowed.
How does it feel to read that? Can you truly take it in? Breathe deep with it?
I feel my shoulders drop as I read this out loud. This is where the somatics of our words and our internal (and external) language are important to notice. They directly affect our nervous systems and our overall health.
Some of us like to move fast. However, this reflects fear, moving too fast to see how what we do impacts others’ lives and our own. Remember, we live in a world where we are highly interconnected. This is both a blessing and a curse.
When moving fast, we don’t think through the implications of our actions, and our investments or divestments. When the work we do is tied to thousands, or even millions of people and their wellbeing, our decisions require thoughtfulness and feedback. They require proper notice, and regard for humanity. We are witnessing a massive and callous disregard for these principles on the national stage.
Radical change is possible when large numbers of people participate in democracy. The strategy of the current U.S. administration been called a blitzkreig, German for lightning war. It sure feels that way most days.
I see people pushing back in large or small ways, refusing to cooperate and collude with unethical requests. I’m looking for ways to channel trickster energy per the wisdom of Tricia Hersey (via Satya Robyn below).
I’m inviting ideas for creative and subversive pushbacks to be revealed in my dreamspace, or even in the comments here. I am slowing down to enjoy my cup of tea in the morning, without news entering my field until at least 4-5 hours into the day. I will preserve my time to meditate and create, before allowing those channels to permeate my consciousness.
Going slower to pay attention yields dividends that may be harder to see day-to-day. When we look over the longer arc of history, pacing ourselves is important. It is the only way we can thrive.
This is not a real thing, but I liked the phrasing. There is a “Silicon Valley Bible Conference” however! Sponsored within the First Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Sunnyvale, CA.
I no longer have the attribution for the quote “if you’re not paying for the product, you ARE the product.” If anyone else does, I’d love it if you comment.
Wow. I need to read Stolen Focus! AND Indistractible. I used to say I firmly believed in people's short attention spans, a la, brochure copy. It's so much worse now and it's because of social media (IT has trained US) and, with time passing, upcoming generations who aren't even used to reading an article.
As far as people as products, that's how the current administration is treating us. Firings are like stopping production on a product that isn't cost effective.