“If you don’t have time to DO IT RIGHT the first time…When will you have the time to DO IT OVER?”
Wise words.
I came across a sign with this quote written on it a year and a half ago, while visiting an engineering partner’s facility for some engine testing. My coworkers at the time had been talking, and complaining, to me about this attitude–of analysis results being needed so fast that there “wasn’t time” to slow down, do the double and triple check, and get things right.
And what happened with those results?
They ended up needing to be redone, so they took twice as long to get anyways. That’s not just twice as much time: it’s twice as much computing resources. Twice as much money, if not more. And twice as much irritation for everyone involved.
I’m not saying you should take the slower route for everything. In some cases, you need to admit the limitations of the information you do have and make a choice based on that. Or you have a lower-fidelity model, but you know you’ll have data to make a higher-fidelity one later, so you push ahead with the intent to go back and improve your inputs when you’re able.
In all these cases though, it should be a conscious, deliberate choice to continue forward with your given assumptions and knowledge gaps.
But if you’re doing something knowing full well you’re rushing, because your program manager is breathing down your neck or you want it done before you leave for the day or you promised results for the meeting in ten minutes
Stop.
Take a pause.
Admit and apologize for the delay.
And take the time to do it right, the first time.