Speed Obsession: Why the Temptation to 'Go Faster' Ruins Ideas

“The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese”

• Analyzes concrete failure cases born from a culture obsessed with speed.
• Explores the scientific impact of ‘hurry sickness’ on the brain and creativity.
• Proposes practical methods of ‘intentional slowness’ applicable to work and life.

The Idol of Speed: The Warning of Galaxy Note7

In August 2016, the tech industry enthusiastically welcomed Samsung Electronics’ new ambitious product, the Galaxy Note7. Armed with innovative features like iris recognition, waterproofing, and an enhanced S Pen, this smartphone was more than just a new release. It was a culmination of a ‘great idea’ poised to change the market landscape and received explosive praise immediately after launch. I vividly remember eagerly following the release news with high expectations for new technology.

But the glory was short-lived. Within weeks of release, shocking reports emerged worldwide of Note7 devices exploding while charging. Once a symbol of cutting-edge technology, the device quickly turned into a dangerous hazard and was banned from airplanes. Ultimately, Samsung had to make the painful decision of a massive global recall and early discontinuation.

The Galaxy Note7 incident is more than a corporate mistake; it is a profound allegory for our era. It serves as a strong warning against the idolization of ‘speed’ that justifies everything in the name of innovation. It vividly shows how impatience to be the best and the obsession with speed to beat competitors can destroy an almost perfect idea. This article uses the symbolic failure of the Galaxy Note7 as a starting point to dissect the ’trap of speed’ dominating modern society.

Part 1: The Culture of Speed Obsession That Rules Us

What cultural soil made failures like the Galaxy Note7 inevitable? It is the zeitgeist where ‘fast’ is equated with ‘good’. From national development projects to Silicon Valley’s core ideology, speed has been regarded as the sole measure of success.

Silicon Valley’s Mantra: “Move Fast and Break Things”

The spirit of Silicon Valley, the heart of the modern tech industry, is best encapsulated by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s motto “Move Fast and Break Things.” This slogan symbolized an aggressive startup culture that prioritized rapid innovation and bold disruption over caution.

However, this radical motto inevitably faced revision. In 2014, Zuckerberg officially changed it to “Move Fast with Stable Infrastructure.” This acknowledged the reality that the cost of ‘breaking things’ had become unmanageable. As Facebook grew, even minor bugs affected billions of users, and the cost of fixing them began to outweigh the benefits of speed.

Korea’s Survival Strategy: The Pros and Cons of the ‘Ppalli Ppalli’ Culture

While Silicon Valley’s speed worship stems from corporate philosophy, Korea’s ‘ppalli ppalli’ (hurry hurry) culture is a product of national survival strategy. The historical background of rapid, compressed growth after the Korean War made speed a national virtue. This ‘ppalli ppalli’ spirit was the driving force behind ultra-fast economic growth and the myth of an IT powerhouse, and it showed remarkable efficiency in crisis situations.

However, behind this dazzling growth lies a shadow of terrible tragedy. When safety and fundamental principles were ignored in pursuit of speed and efficiency, the results were catastrophic. The 1994 Seongsu Bridge collapse and the 1995 Sampoong Department Store collapse are representative disasters caused by the ‘ppalli ppalli’ culture. Both tragedies resulted from ignoring safety to shorten construction periods, reduce costs, and maximize profits.

Part 2: Three Failure Narratives Caused by Impatience

How does speed obsession lead to concrete failures? Let’s deeply analyze three disasters caused by impatience across different industries.

A Masterpiece That Can’t Be Played: ‘Cyberpunk 2077’

‘Cyberpunk 2077’ was the ambitious project of CDPR, the developer famed worldwide for ‘The Witcher 3,’ but the game released in December 2020 fell far short of promises. The development was marred by extreme ‘crunch culture,’ with developers suffering inhumane long working hours. Ultimately, the game launched riddled with bugs and severe performance issues that made progress nearly impossible, prompting Sony to take the unprecedented step of removing the game from the PlayStation Store.

A 2 Trillion Won Bet That Misread the Times: Quibi

Quibi was a short-form content platform backed by Hollywood moguls and Silicon Valley experts with about 2 trillion won in investment. However, its ‘go big or go home’ strategy led to pouring massive capital without adequately verifying market demand. To make matters worse, its April 2020 launch coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic when its main target audience—commuters—were staying home. The service tragically shut down just six months after launch.

The Promise That Exploded on Its Own: Revisiting Galaxy Note7

The Galaxy Note7 had a clear goal to preempt Apple’s new iPhone in the market. The ‘great idea’ of fitting a thinner design with a larger battery was born from this strategic impatience. The seed of tragedy was the total failure in execution caused by this impatience. Overambitious design led to defects where battery internal components were dangerously compressed, and a rushed recall process completely destroyed consumer trust.

Anatomy of Impatient Failures

Part 3: How Rushing Brains Kill Innovation

Contrary to the common belief that time pressure boosts creativity, most scientific studies point to the opposite. Under pressure, our brains tend to choose the most familiar and linear thinking paths, which suppresses the exploratory and divergent thinking essential for true innovation.

Could You Have ‘Hurry Sickness’?

The speed obsession of modern society leaves individuals with a chronic condition called ‘hurry sickness.’ Do you often feel anxious as if always chased by time? This goes beyond a habit of rushing; it means a chronic anxiety and obsessive state of always feeling pressed for time. Hurry sickness disrupts executive brain functions like concentration and decision-making, causing frequent mistakes and mental burnout. Ironically, the more one shouts ‘faster,’ the slower and less innovative the organization becomes in the long run.

Part 4: Escaping the Trap of Speed: Intentional Slowness

What is the antidote to the trap of speed? Not unconditional slowness, but ‘intentional slowness.’

The Philosophy of Slowness: The Slow Food Movement

Started in Italy in 1986, the ‘Slow Food’ movement arose to protect biodiversity, tradition, and the joy of eating against homogenized fast food. This movement offers a broader philosophical proposal to choose long-term values like sustainability, quality, and community over short-term metrics such as speed, cost, and quantity.

Practicing Slowness: ‘Deep Work’

Cal Newport’s ‘Deep Work’ is a concrete methodology for modern workers. He defines ‘deep work’ as professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free, intense concentration pushing cognitive abilities to their limits. Newport’s key argument is that the ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare due to constant digital distractions, while its economic value is growing exponentially.

Comparison: Speed-First vs. Deliberation-First

What difference does the obsession with ‘faster’ versus the pursuit of ‘deeper’ make? Comparing the core aspects of these two approaches clarifies what we should choose.

Conclusion: How to Be the Second Mouse and Get the Cheese

We often take the proverb “The early bird catches the worm” as a success guideline. But there is a forgotten backstory: “The second mouse gets the cheese.” The first mouse triggers the trap and sacrifices itself, allowing the second mouse to safely claim the cheese.

The key takeaways from this article are:

1. Speed obsession is the enemy of innovation. Impatience to be the best can destroy even great ideas like the Galaxy Note7.
2. The cost of ‘ppalli ppalli’ culture is harsh. From Silicon Valley to Korean society, cultures that worship speed ultimately lead to burnout and major disasters.
3. Intentional slowness is true competitiveness. Time for deep, undisturbed focus and reflection, as in ‘Deep Work’ or the ‘Slow Food’ philosophy, produces excellent results.

In today’s complex and uncertain world, truly sustainable success often does not belong to the ‘first bird’ that rushes in blindly. Instead, it belongs to the ‘second mouse’ who learns from the first’s mistakes, observes carefully, and acts intentionally. Great ideas become truly great only when given the time and deep thought they deserve.

Why not pick your most important task today, block out all distractions, and practice ‘deep work’? Small changes can bring surprising results.