patrickcollison.com, 2019
Examples of people quickly accomplishing ambitious things together.
The Empire State Building. Construction started on March 17, 1930. The building was officially opened on May 1, 1931—410 days later. During peak construction, over 3,400 workers were on site every day.
The Apollo Program. On May 25, 1961, Kennedy committed the US to landing on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface. 8 years and 56 days.
The SR-71 Blackbird. Lockheed's Skunk Works designed and built the A-12 (the SR-71's predecessor) in just 20 months from contract signing to first flight. It still holds the airspeed record for a manned air-breathing aircraft.
The iPhone. From concept to announcement was approximately 2.5 years. Steve Jobs initiated the project in 2004; it was unveiled in January 2007. A complete reinvention of the mobile phone that redefined an industry.
The Golden Gate Bridge. Construction took just over 4 years, from January 1933 to May 1937. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time.
These examples suggest that there is a significant gap between what is achievable and what we typically achieve. The binding constraint on most ambitious projects is not physics or money—it's organizational speed.
When you look at the greatest human achievements in speed, they share common traits:
The modern technology industry has absorbed the lesson that speed matters. But most other industries—construction, government, healthcare—have actually gotten slower over time. We build slower than we did 50 years ago. This should embarrass us.
The question is not "can we move faster?" It's "why aren't we?"
Speed is not about cutting corners. The Empire State Building is still standing. Apollo landed safely. Speed is about removing the organizational friction that prevents talented people from doing their best work.