<p><pre><code>    I’ve found that paradoxically I sometimes get the fastest, highest quality 
    progress by asking what’s the minimum control input I can give to be 
    successful?
</code></pre>
There&#x27;s an analogous concept in auto-racing. The fastest drivers are the ones who steer the least. That is to say, any steering input necessarily slows the forward speed of the car. So it&#x27;s important to find the <i>line</i> or path that allows you traverse the track with a minimum of steering.<p>The same thing applies to management. Every interruption or rebalancing of priorities for your team causes a shift, and that shift takes time to effect. During that time your team is operating at less than full efficiency, as some of their mental effort is going towards learning the new system or figuring out the new priorities rather than actually delivering the end product for the customer. The fastest teams are driven by managers who apply the minimum level of input to keep the team on the right path, but then back off once the team is heading in the right direction.