“Quick but steady wins the race”

Long ago, yet not so long ago, in the village of Rampur lived 3 friends. One day, the three had to participate
in an archery competition, in which there was to be 1 and only 1 winner. Mohan was the most agile of the
three, and had a knack for archery. However, so sure was he of his success that he did not participate in
the build up to the event. Shyam was the steadiest of the three, the one who practiced the most. But, he
was risk averse and took time to shoot. On the other hand, we had Ram, the one who was steady and
quick; steady in practice and quick in decision making. The challenge was held and Ram won. Some were
surprised, but not the aged wise men, who had the experience to know that in the end, the Steadiest AND
the Quickest win any race

But, what exactly is so special about quickness and steadiness? Didn’t we all read the old fable involving
the hare and the tortoise, the story with its morale, “Slow and Steady Wins the Race”? So, was the story
wrong? Or, have the times changed? To answer such questions, let us explore why being steady and quick
are important separately. Then, we’ll move forward and try to integrate the 2 concepts and show how one is
incomplete without the other

Why is being steady absolutely crucial?

Being steady ensures that we give our best at all times. It checks against any complacency. The hare in the
age old fable slept midway, miscalculated the opponent’s position and getting over confident lost a certain
victory. In addition, being steady is equally important in the build-up to the race. One, who has practiced
more, has a greater probability of winning. It creates a base, a platform from which the final battle can be
waged.

Let’s walk through time to understand more of it.

The freedom struggle gives a very good example. Gandhiji, the father of the nation, started the Satyagraha
at Champaran in 1917. Then after, he took years to build upon the movement, brick by brick, steadily. Mass
movements were held. People from all castes and communities were mobilized. In particular, Gandhiji was
careful never to engage too fast. So much so, that he suspended the Non Cooperation Movement after the
Chauri Chara incident, where a violent mob burnt a police station. He realized that by being too fast, the
movement would easily crumble under the weight of the powerful British. Being steady was more important
than being fast, too fast. No wonder, Gandhiji was vindicated when India won the freedom at the midnight
of 15th August, when the world slept and India awoke to life and freedom.

Moving to the late 1960s, we see a time of economic and agriculture chaos. Wars and successive droughts
had put India into misery and food production was insufficient to feed a growing country. Initially, quick fixes
were taken like devaluating currency and taking food loans from other nations. But the moves failed to have
a longer impact. Only later, when the government chose a more holistic and a steadier approach in the
form of a Green Revolution that we managed to become self-sufficient. Today, we can safely thank the
steady approach chosen that we are even managing to export food to deficient countries

The late 1980s gave us a child wonder in the form of the batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar. He was a boy,
who would practice 13 hours a day, before he became an overnight success. The fame was supreme and
could be overwhelming. Yet, the boy kept on practicing, working harder, pursuing a Modest yet Steady
approach. It was this that allowed him to become, what many say, as the greatest of all time. Meanwhile,
countless other child prodigies have fallen prey to limelight, who chose to relish than being steady.

Those years also had an important change in the Economic and the International dimension. This was the
rise of China. Before 1990s, China had the largest population of poor in the world. But, a Steady approach
to wake up the sleeping dragon was taken by their government. The policy was repeated, modified and
relentlessly worked upon year after year. The result was overwhelming. Over the next thirty years, China
grew at a pace never seen in the world before. More importantly, it was the steadiness of the policies that
enabled it to continue for full 3 decades.
In the meantime, our policies were more of quick fixing nature. Policies that had greater electoral dividends
were prioritized over long term investments. And that is one reason why we fell short of China

So, does that mean that being steady is the only requirement? Was the hare and tortoise story true in its
earnest? Is being quick, unrewarding?

To be honest, it isn’t. Being quick is extremely crucial, more so in the fast moving globalized world, a world
where speed matters. Being steady helps to be battle ready, but on the battle day, speed counts as long as
one is not complacent. Imagine yourself in a quiz competition. Both you and your competitor have been
steady in the preparation as well as in answering the initial questions. But, who wins the final trophy will be
decided on the basis of who clicks the buzzer quickest. Speed, quite literally, is the determining factor here

Steadiness helps to winnow out the non-serious and the ones who think too highly of themselves. But,
there still remains a major chunk that remain to be ranked. Here comes, the utility of being quick to
separate the best from the better.

On a national level, both India and her rivals, over the years, have been steady in their defence
expenditures. The wave of the battle will now be principally decided on which side can act fast, can click
the red button of missiles more quickly. In fact, it has been argued that, one reason why we couldn’t
‘punish’ the culprit nation after the Parliament Attacks in 2001 was because we couldn’t mobilise the troops
on the border quickly. And when we eventually did, the moment was lost. The speed left us languishing.

So, was the tortoise and hare story wrong then? It wasn’t. However, a hare sleeping in the middle of a race
is more of an aberration rather than the norm. In the real world, we are more likely to have one who won’t
do so and sleep only after the fight. And, to challenge that, we need to gear ourselves us and be steady as
well as quick.

As an administrator, this integration translates in to quickness in decision making and a steadiness to do it

over and over again. Also, it requires to have a telescopic outlook that takes care over future impacts of
decision. More importantly, being steady implies consistent policies rather than the mad “March Rush” to
withdraw the lying funds in haste. But, none of this can succeed if the administrators are not quick enough
and utilise the moment.

No wonder, Lord Krishna, says to Arjun “ Karmanye Vaadhikaraste, Maa Faleshu Kadachan” , or to focus
on actions and be steady instead of waiting idly for results. At the same time, the “Saarthi” or the chariot
driver in the form of Lord Krishna took the onus on himself that the Chariot could be quickly driven in and
out of danger