Projects and Sprints VS Rhythm and Cadence

In the startup world, you often hear about technological sprints inside companies. They are where the tech team puts in long hours and goes as fast as it can to finish a project.  However, sprints aren’t sustainable.  They are singular projects.  Once the sprint is over then what?

Rhythm and Cadence are different.  They are a part of the long march.  If you are familiar with a marching band or the military it is the difference between double time and regular time. Double time isn’t sustainable.

Cadence is something slightly different.  The CEO needs to understand cadence intimately and use sprints to become a part of cadence.  Cadence is orderly progress of when things get done.  Do things out of order, ruin the cadence, and create bullwhip effect problems down the road.  The rhythm is the background pace, the drumbeat, the heartbeat that constantly keeps everyone humming the same tune.

Conflicts can occur when people on the team jump into a cadence and try to turn it into a project or sprint, changing the rhythm.  It is up to the CEO to let everyone know their role and what they can do to move the company forward within the designed cadence.  Keep people on the same beat.  Otherwise, the company is out of tune.  Sometimes it is time to sprint, but sometimes it’s time to just move forward.

Building a blow out company takes a disciplined cadence.