The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a Fast World

The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a Fast World
Carl Honore

What do we do when things go wrong in a fast world? Many of us go for the quick fix that delays the problem rather than solving it. To make real progress we need real solutions – we need to take time for THE SLOW FIX.

People have long been in search of a quick fix. Truth is, it doesn’t work. The problems facing us today are bigger and more urgent than ever before and we need to learn to start fixing things properly, rather than settling for short-term solutions.

The Slow Fix offers real, life-changing solutions to tackling these problems and extends the movement defined by Carl Honore in his global bestseller, In Praise of Slow, to offer a recipe for problem-solving that can be applied to every walk of life, from business and politics to relationships, education and health reform.

Taking time to build up expertise, taking advantage of the hidden benefits of teamwork, finding the right messenger to deliver the message, and employing a transparent approach are all essential elements of the Slow Fix.

This book will help you make sense of what is going wrong – and right – in the world, and gives inspiration, ideas and practical tools to help fix your own life and everything around you.

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Contents

Cover (#u34dce800-3aac-5436-b8dc-dfbad1b4ed00)

Title Page (#ulink_c67d66e0-82e7-5997-a893-2240e440eb91)

Dedication (#ulink_3d6dac96-5257-542d-a3c4-71f357971b84)

Epigraph (#ulink_853c8534-4f55-5614-affe-bf3a98f1fff9)

INTRODUCTION: Pulling the Andon Rope (#ulink_610b48e0-53da-5305-b19c-c16c49f97d21)

1. Why the Quick Fix? (#ulink_5ff1a48a-60d9-554b-8edb-b1a51772eb40)

2. CONFESS: The Magic of Mistakes and the Mea Culpa (#ulink_e6ff0125-cc83-57aa-9b0b-abe9940b396a)

3. THINK HARD: Reculer Pour Mieux Sauter (#ulink_be9efb4d-28ff-5efd-8f13-ea4d21ca7d01)

4. THINK HOLISTIC: Joining the Dots (#ulink_16a1dbbb-c027-5a53-8057-c26c899356fe)

5. THINK LONG: Tackling Tomorrow Today (#litres_trial_promo)

6. THINK SMALL: Devil in the Details (#litres_trial_promo)

7. PREPARE: Ready for Anything (#litres_trial_promo)

8. COLLABORATE: Two Heads Are Better Than One (#litres_trial_promo)

9. CROWDSOURCE: The Wisdom of the Masses (#litres_trial_promo)

10. CATALYSE: First among Equals (#litres_trial_promo)

11. DEVOLVE: Self-Help (in a Good Way) (#litres_trial_promo)

12. FEEL: Twiddling the Emotional Thermostat (#litres_trial_promo)

13. PLAY: Solving Problems One Game at a Time (#litres_trial_promo)

14. EVOLVE: Are We There Yet? (#litres_trial_promo)

CONCLUSION: Slow Fixing the Future (#litres_trial_promo)

Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Resource List (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

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To Miranda, Benjamin and Susannah

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You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.

Albert Einstein

INTRODUCTION (#u16c9237b-cea7-59fa-9605-d4409b980693)

Pulling the Andon Rope

How poor are they who have not patience!What wound did ever heal but by degrees?

William Shakespeare

In a small, windowless room, in a busy clinic in south London, a familiar ritual is about to begin. Let’s call it Man with Back Pain Visits Specialist.

You may recognise the scene: the white walls are bare apart from an anatomical poster and a few smudged fingerprints. Fluorescent light falls from a bulb overhead. A faint whiff of disinfectant hangs in the air. On a trolley beside the treatment table, acupuncture needles are spread out like the tools of a medieval torturer.

Today, I am the man seeking relief from back pain. Face down on the treatment table, peering through a foam ring wrapped in tissue paper, I can see the hem of a white lab coat swishing above the floor. It belongs to Dr Woo, the acupuncturist. Though nearing retirement, he still moves with the liquid grace of a gazelle. To the hobbled masses in his waiting room, he is a poster boy for the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Dr Woo is planting a small forest of needles along my spine. Each time he punctures the skin, he lets out a muffled grunt of triumph. And each time the sensation is the same: a prickling heat followed by an oddly pleasant contraction of the muscle. I lie still, like a butterfly yielding to a Victorian collector.

After inserting the final needle, Dr Woo dims the lights and leaves me alone in the half-darkness. Through the thin walls I can hear him chatting with another patient, a young woman, about her back trouble. Later, he returns to pull out my needles. My spirits are already lifting as we walk back to Reception. The pain has eased and my body is moving more freely, but Dr Woo remains cautious.

‘Do not get carried away,’ he says. ‘Backs are complicated and they need time to heal properly, so you must be patient.’ I nod, looking away as I hand over my credit card, knowing what is coming next. ‘You should do at least five more sessions,’ he tells me.

My response is the same as last time, the same as always: make a follow-up appointment while secretly planning to dodge it.

Two days later and, true to form, my back has improved enough that I cancel my return visit, feeling slightly smug about the time, hassle and money this will save. Who needs multiple rounds of acupuncture, anyway? One hit and I’m back in the game.