HBR Guide to Critical Thinking

CHAPTER 2

Beware the Urgency Trap

by Jesse Sostrin

An unbridled urgency can be counterproductive and costly when you are faced with a complicated question or problem. If you’re too quick to react, you can end up with shortsighted decisions or superficial solutions, and neglect underlying causes and create collateral damage in the process. But if you’re too deliberative and slow to respond, you can get caught flat-footed, potentially missing an opportunity or allowing an emergent challenge to consume you.

To balance these two extremes, you need reflective urgency—the ability to bring conscious, rapid reflection to the priorities of the moment—to align your best thinking with the swiftest course of action. In my work developing and coaching leaders ...