Index

Mental Models

Velocity vs. Speed

Speed is how fast you move. Velocity is how fast you move toward a specific goal. High speed with wrong direction is wasted motion.

Velocity-vs-speed thinking prevents the trap of working fast on the wrong things by insisting that direction be evaluated alongside tempo.

Core question

Are we moving fast toward the right destination, or just moving fast?

Example

A team ships twelve features in a quarter but none moves the core metric. They had speed but not velocity. A competitor ships three features aimed directly at retention and wins.

How to apply

  1. 1.Define the target outcome clearly before measuring pace.
  2. 2.Evaluate each activity by its contribution to the goal, not just its throughput.
  3. 3.Prefer fewer high-velocity actions over many high-speed ones.
  4. 4.Regularly reassess whether the target itself is still correct.

Pitfalls

  • ·Equating busyness with progress.
  • ·Measuring output quantity without measuring directional alignment.
  • ·Changing direction so often that velocity drops to zero despite high speed.

Questions

How do teams measure velocity instead of speed?

Track outcome metrics (revenue, retention, user satisfaction) alongside output metrics (features shipped, tickets closed). Outcome movement is velocity.

Can you have velocity without speed?

Technically yes — slow, directionally correct progress is still velocity. But in competitive environments, you usually need both pace and direction.

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