Move Fast and Fix Things: Trust and Speed
Ann Morris outlines a five-step framework for solving hard problems by building trust and executing with speed. Leaders learn to resolve conflict debt, set metabolic pace, and structure change narratives for buy-in.
Organizational stagnation frequently arises from a mismanaged balance between execution speed and relational trust. Ann Morris and Francis Fry's research, detailed in "Move Fast and Fix Things," reveals that top-performing change leaders reject the "move fast and break things" paradigm in favor of a trust-first approach that enables rapid, sustainable problem resolution. This framework posits that trust is not a static asset but a dynamic variable that leaders must actively build and repair to unlock organizational velocity. Without this foundation, speed becomes destructive; with it, speed becomes the primary mechanism for fixing hard problems and retaining top talent who crave progress.
The Five-Step Problem-Solving Cycle
The authors propose a structured five-step process to replace ad-hoc problem-solving. The cycle begins with diagnostic humility, urging leaders to suppress overconfidence and rigorously identify root causes through data and dialogue. Subsequent steps focus on rebuilding trust and expanding the problem-solving team to include diverse perspectives, creating psychological safety to discuss the "undiscussable." A critical phase involves narrative architecture: leaders must secure buy-in by honoring the past, articulating a compelling strategic "why," and outlining a rigorous path forward. This storytelling approach, exemplified by Dara Khosrowshahi's leadership transition at Uber, validates stakeholder contributions while pivoting toward change.
Executing with Urgency and Managing Conflict Debt
The final phase emphasizes execution with urgency, where leaders empower teams and remove systemic roadblocks. Speed is rehabilitated as a strategic necessity; leaders must set the "metabolic pace" of their organizations to prevent stagnation. The framework introduces "conflict debt," analogous to technical debt, highlighting how unresolved disagreements accumulate and drag down performance. Organizations must establish mechanisms to resolve conflict gracefully and quickly. High-performing employees evaluate engagement based on the ability to execute and see results; prolonged timelines erode motivation and increase turnover risk. Leaders who fail to accelerate risk losing their best people to environments where impact is tangible and immediate. Furthermore, the framework emphasizes that speed is the payoff for rigorous preparation, not a substitute for it. Leaders must prioritize "ambulance" projects that bypass standard queues to address critical threats, ensuring resources are allocated to high-stakes initiatives that demand immediate attention. By targeting focused sprints—often resolving issues within a concentrated 40-hour window—leaders can maintain momentum, reduce anxiety, and demonstrate credible progress, thereby creating a flywheel of action and optimism that reinforces the culture of trust and speed.
Key insights
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Trust functions as a dynamic variable rather than a static asset, requiring continuous rebuilding and repair to support organizational velocity. Leaders who treat trust as fragile often stifle action, whereas those who actively manage trust can accelerate execution without compromising system integrity.
Impact: Enables rapid problem resolution while maintaining stakeholder confidence, reducing the risk of change fatigue and systemic breakdowns during transformation.
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Unresolved interpersonal friction accumulates as "conflict debt," creating a hidden drag on organizational performance similar to technical debt. Organizations must implement formal or informal mechanisms to address disagreements gracefully and promptly to prevent stagnation.
Impact: Improves team velocity and decision-making quality by removing psychological barriers, allowing resources to focus on execution rather than managing lingering resentment.
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Leaders frequently exhibit overconfidence during the diagnostic phase, jumping to solutions before fully understanding root causes. Effective problem-solving requires humble curiosity, data gathering, and inclusive dialogue to validate assumptions before committing resources.
Impact: Reduces wasted effort on misdiagnosed issues and increases the success rate of interventions by ensuring solutions address the actual underlying drivers of performance gaps.
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High-performing talent evaluates engagement based on the ability to execute and witness tangible progress. Leaders must set a high "metabolic pace" for their teams, compressing timelines to deliver results and maintain momentum.
Impact: Enhances retention of top performers by satisfying the intrinsic drive for impact, while simultaneously signaling organizational agility and responsiveness to market demands.
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Change adoption depends on a structured narrative that honors the past, articulates a compelling "why," and outlines a rigorous path forward. Leaders who skip this storytelling architecture risk alienating stakeholders who feel their contributions are dismissed.
Impact: Accelerates stakeholder buy-in and reduces resistance by validating historical context, creating emotional alignment that facilitates smoother transition to new strategies.
Action items
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Conduct a "conflict debt" audit across key teams to identify unresolved disagreements that are slowing decision-making. Establish a dedicated mechanism, such as a facilitated resolution session, to address these friction points within a two-week window.
Impact: Removes hidden performance drag and restores team velocity, allowing immediate reallocation of energy toward strategic priorities and execution.
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Adopt a five-step problem-solving sprint for critical organizational issues, compressing the timeline to a focused 40-hour cycle. Assign specific owners for diagnosis, trust-building, team expansion, storytelling, and execution to ensure accountability at each stage.
Impact: Prevents problem stagnation and reduces anxiety by delivering credible progress quickly, reinforcing a culture of agility and results.
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Develop a change narrative using the past-present-future architecture before launching any major initiative. Explicitly honor previous efforts and stakeholder contributions while clearly articulating the strategic "why" and the rigorous path forward.
Impact: Secures deeper stakeholder buy-in and mitigates resistance by validating historical context, ensuring the team is emotionally aligned with the new direction.
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Institute a mandatory "diagnostic pause" for all new problem-solving efforts, requiring leaders to gather data and solicit diverse perspectives before proposing solutions. Counteract overconfidence by rewarding curiosity and root-cause analysis over premature judgment.
Impact: Improves solution quality and resource efficiency by ensuring interventions target actual root causes rather than symptoms, reducing the likelihood of costly rework.
Quotes
“No one has ever said to us, I wish I had taken longer and done less.”
“Speed is the thing that unlocks your ability to lead change.”
“Conflict debt is a beautiful metaphor because it is this weight that we drag around and slows us down until we decide to clean it up and fix it.”