Competing Against Time: Why Speed Still Wins 35 Years Later

Why This Still Matters

In 1990, George Stalk Jr. and Thomas M. Hout published Competing Against Time, a book that argued time should be treated as a strategic weapon—just like cost or quality. Thirty-five years later, that message hits harder than ever.

Tim Cook hands out copies of this book to Apple employees. There's a reason. Speed is no longer just an operational issue. It's a leadership issue. The companies moving fastest are pulling away. The gap is growing.

If you're running a business or sitting on a board, this matters to you. This post breaks down what the book got right, why it remains relevant today, and how to apply its principles using modern tools—especially AI.

What Stalk and Hout Got Right

The book's core thesis was simple: companies that move faster create more value. They introduced the concept of cycle time reduction—shrinking the time from idea to execution, order to delivery, problem to solution. They focused on fast feedback loops. They treated time as a competitive weapon.

These principles still hold. They're even more powerful today because the barriers that slowed companies down in the 1990s are gone. Technology has removed most friction. But the mindset still matters most. Speed doesn't happen by accident. It happens by design.

Why Leaders Need to Care About Speed Now

The companies adopting AI fastest are winning. They're launching products faster. They're responding to customers faster. They're making smarter decisions in less time.

I see this in the clients I coach. The leaders who treat speed as strategic pull ahead. The ones who don't fall behind. There's no neutral ground anymore.

Organizations that move slowly lose more than market share. They lose talent—high performers don't want to work in sluggish environments. They lose customers—people don't wait around for better service. They lose relevance—in a world where things change daily, delay is decline.

Real Companies, Real Results

The evidence is clear. Let me show you what's actually happening:

·      Lumen Technologies cut sales research time from four hours to 15 minutes using Microsoft Copilot. That's a 94% reduction in research time. They project $50 million in annual savings. Their developers reduced project cycle times by 20-30% using GitHub Copilot.

·      Siemens deployed AI-enabled robots in their assembly lines and reduced automation costs by 90%. Their machine learning systems boosted first-pass yield and efficiency across the value stream.

·      Five Sigma, a fintech company, deployed AI in claims processing, reducing errors, increasing productivity, and reducing claims cycle time.

These aren't press releases. These are real numbers from real companies. Speed is delivering measurable value.

Where AI Fits In

AI is the most effective tool for competing on time. It cuts decision-making time by giving you instant access to insights. It improves forecasting so you act before problems hit. It automates routine work so your team focuses on high-impact activities.

This isn't about future potential. It's happening now. Chatbots handle thousands of customer queries instantly. Algorithms optimize supply chains in real time. Predictive analytics tell you what customers want before they ask.

The companies I coach that embrace AI move faster. The ones that don't get left behind. Simple as that.

How to Compete on Time in 2024

Speed doesn't mean chaos. It means clarity. Here's what works:

Shorten your planning cycles. Don't wait six months for a strategy update. Make decisions faster by getting the right data to the right people. Respond to customers in hours, not days.

Start by mapping your value chain. Where are the slow spots? Find the bottlenecks. Every delay has a name. Find it and remove it.

Speed comes from structure, not slogans. Build it into how your organization works.

What to Measure

You can't improve what you don't measure. If you want to compete on time, track time.

Start with these:

• Cycle time: How long from start to finish?

• Time-to-decision: How long to make key decisions?

• Time-to-market: How fast can you launch?

• Time-to-value: How quickly do customers see results?

Use AI to track and improve these metrics. AI surfaces delays you didn't know existed. It shows you where time is wasted and how to fix it.

Good metrics are actionable, accessible, and auditable. They lead to decisions. Everyone can see them. They're based on reality, not guesses.

Speed needs to be visible. If you don't measure it, you're not managing it.

What to Do First

You don't need a five-year plan. You need to act. Here's where to start:

First, audit where time is lost. Look at your core processes. Where are the delays? Where does work sit idle? Where are decisions stuck? One of my clients discovered that proposals sat in legal review for an average of 11 days. Not because legal was slow. Because no one owned the handoff. They fixed it in a week.

Second, set a clear time-based goal. Pick one function or team. Set a target that's aggressive and measurable. Cut delivery time in half. Reduce decision time by 75%. Make it real.

Third, use AI to accelerate one high-impact process. Pick something that matters—customer support, forecasting, onboarding. Use AI to make it faster. Don't wait for perfection. Start with something simple and scale from there.

Speed doesn't come from theory. It comes from action. Act now.

Speed Is a Leadership Skill

Competing against time is not a tactic. It's a mindset. It's how leaders think, how teams operate, and how companies win.

I've spent years coaching senior leaders and business owners. The successful ones share a common trait: they model urgency. They reward speed. They use AI to move faster. They stop debating and start acting.

The unsuccessful ones? They talk about speed while their organizations move like molasses. They confuse motion with progress. They wait for perfect information that never comes.

Here's what I tell my clients: delay is the most expensive decision you can make. Every day you wait to act is a day your competitors get faster. Every process you leave unchanged is an opportunity you're giving away.

Speed matters. It always has. But now, with AI, the gap between fast and slow is widening faster than ever.

Don't get left behind.

References:

• Stalk, G. & Hout, T. (1990). Competing Against Time: How Time-Based Competition is Reshaping Global Markets. Free Press.