George Washington once said they had not heard from Benjamin Franklin in Paris and should write him a letter.
Weeks would pass before a response arrived—if it ever did.
Leaders of the past made decisions in a world where action came first, and reaction followed at the speed of a ship crossing the Atlantic.
Today, messages travel at the speed of electricity.
Reaction now defines leadership more than action.
Many times despite our best efforts to be proactive!
You don’t have weeks to think.
You don’t have days to respond.
You have moments.
The shift is evident and profound.
It has been since the advent of the internet, email, and social media.
We, as leaders, once operated like chess players, planning ten moves ahead.
Now, leadership is like fencing—decisions made in the moment, countering what just happened.
Don’t read this as an excuse for impulsiveness.
It’s far from that.
It’s a demand for preparation.
The best leaders (that’s you) don’t react emotionally; they react or respond intentionally.
(We will study the difference between react and respond in a future note)
They anticipate, absorb, and redirect energy as it arrives.
The best of you are good at this.
Some of us need more reps.
If Franklin took months to send a message, today’s leaders receive a hundred in a second.
The real skill isn’t acting fast—it’s reacting wisely.
“The speed of electricity didn’t make leadership easier. It made reaction the defining skill.” — Mike Brewer