The fastest route to an answer can begin by slowing down the diagnosis.

Rushing to act on a problem usually means acting on your first guess, and if the guess is wrong you have lost the time anyway plus whatever the wrong action cost. Slowing down at the diagnosis stage feels like the opposite of urgency and generally produces the answer sooner, because you only have to do it once.

When something is on fire and you feel the pull to act, take the first ten minutes to understand rather than to move. Ask what is actually happening. Ten minutes rarely makes the situation worse and often makes the next hour unnecessary.