Is Your Business Operating at Lightspeed or Just Spinning?

The Illusion of Speed

In business, we love the language of speed. ⚡

“We’re moving fast.”

“We need to pick up the pace.”

"We need a greater sense of urgency."

"Where's our drive?"

“Let’s go, go, go.”

But here’s a hard truth I’ve learned across industries, from manufacturing floors to healthcare operations to tech: moving fast doesn’t mean you’re getting anywhere. In fact, a business can be spinning with enormous energy and still not move forward at all. Like a car with wheels peeling out but stuck in mud (even with 4WD), there’s motion, but no momentum.

So, how do you know if your business is truly operating at lightspeed, or just spinning in place?

Let's analyze with some physics terms. 👨‍🏫

Speed vs. Velocity

Physics gives us a great metaphor here. Speed is a scalar; it tells you how fast you’re going. Velocity, on the other hand, is a vector. It includes speed and direction.

That distinction matters more than you think.

A company that’s launching projects quickly, running daily stand-ups, and rolling out dashboards may appear fast. But if those actions aren’t aligned with a shared direction or strategic goal, the effort might just be internal noise. Activity. "Busy"ness.  Yikes.

True velocity means fast and focused.

Signs You’re Just Spinning

If you’ve been in a business long enough, especially one growing quickly, you’ve probably felt the signs of spinning:

• Initiative overload: Every quarter brings a new program or priority, none of which seems to stick.

• Dashboard fatigue: KPIs are reported, but no one knows what they’re for or what decisions they inform.  Refer to my last article on The KPI Graveyard

• Constant context switching: Leaders and teams juggle so many priorities that no one gets traction on anything.

• Firefighting culture: Most energy is spent reacting to issues rather than improving the system.

What’s fascinating, and real, is that this can feel like progress from the inside. People are working hard. Teams are sprinting. There’s a buzz in the air. But if you zoom out, the outcomes don’t match the effort. That’s spinning, not velocity.

How to Know You’re Actually Moving Forward

So, how do you distinguish actual forward motion from busy inertia? Here are a few grounded questions to ask yourself or your team:

1. Are your actions aligned with a clear direction?

Do your teams know the destination? Have you translated vision and strategy into something operational, measurable, and understood? If not, speed alone won’t help.

2. Do you know what success looks like?

KPIs and KRs should define progress relative to a goal. If you’re tracking activity metrics (“calls made,” “tasks completed”) without understanding whether those lead to better outcomes, you’re watching your wheels spin.

3. Are you improving, or just moving?

Iteration is powerful, but only if you're closing the loop. Are you pausing regularly to assess and adapt (PDSA-style)? Or are you trapped in a perpetual sprint?

4. Do people feel momentum or exhaustion?

Fast-paced businesses can be energizing, but they can also burn people out when direction isn’t clear. If your team is tired but unfulfilled, it may signal that effort isn’t translating into impact.

What Lightspeed Actually Looks Like

Let’s be honest, lightspeed is a high bar (yes, that might be a bit of an understatement)🙂 But I’ve seen businesses that come relatively close. What sets them apart?

✅ They translate strategy into execution.

Not just once a year at an offsite, but continuously. They use tools like scorecards, OKRs, and regular reviews to keep strategy alive and operationalized.

✅ They use data to steer, not just report.

Metrics aren’t just for show. These companies use data to make decisions, test assumptions, and learn fast.

✅ They create slack on purpose.

Sounds counterintuitive, but lightspeed operations don’t run at 100% capacity. They build in a margin for learning, problem-solving, and improvement.

✅ They iterate in public.

Leaders show vulnerability and transparency. They admit when things don’t work and share their learnings. That creates a culture where velocity doesn’t mean perfection; it means adaptation. It shows humility.

My Own Wake-Up Call

I’ll never forget the first time (decades ago) I realized my team was spinning. We ran multiple improvement projects, each with KPIs and regular reviews. Meetings were full, and progress reports were colorful (yes, we used red, yellow, and green).  It was a very engaged team, focused on improving things for their peers (many were frontline employees).

But a month or two after many of the initiatives had been "completed," when I asked a few frontline team members how the work had made their jobs easier, they were direct. “I’m not sure it has,” they said. The data supported their perspective.

That hit me hard. With all the speed, structure, effort, and engagement, the people closest to the work couldn’t feel the benefit.

That was when I started focusing less on pace and more on purposeful progress. It changed everything.

Closing the Gap: From Spinning to Forward Motion

So, what can you do if you realize your business is spinning? Here’s a simple, grounded playbook:

1. Clarify direction. Revisit your purpose, vision, and strategic objectives. Are they clear? Are they connected to people’s day-to-day work?

   
   

2. Reconnect KPIs to outcomes. Don’t just measure what’s easy, measure what matters. And make sure people know why.

   
   

3. Create a cadence of review and adjustment. Use structured loops, like PDSA, MORs, or quarterly reviews, to check for alignment and course-correct as needed.

   
   

4. Celebrate traction, not just motion. Highlight the impact of focused effort. Reward learning and progress, not just output.

Final Thought

The modern business world rewards speed. But don’t confuse movement with momentum. Spinning is easy. Velocity is earned through clarity, structure, and learning.

When your business operates with both speed and direction, you don’t just move fast, you move forward. That’s what lightspeed really looks like.

Because velocity without direction is just chaos in motion.