“If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.”

During the commencement exercises of my MBA at the University of Utah, one of the speakers shared an African saying that has stuck with me ever since- “If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.” 

This is true in your professional life as well as in your personal life. One of the most important lessons from my MBA was that it was all about the people and the relationships you build with them. There, thank me for giving you the watered-down MBA. No, but really- life is all about helping and learning from each other. No matter how good you are at what you do, you will need the help of other departments at work. In your personal life, you will need something from someone else at one point or another.

You want to go fast, go alone. But the catch is that you might not go very far since you might run out of gas. Find yourself a team of people that believe in you and will support you, support others you believe in– then you will go as far as you want.

Related articles