Are we running faster and faster, yet still standing still?
Christmas is approaching.
The pace slows down.
Calendars begin to open up.
Which creates something unusual.
Space to pause and reflect on a concept you may have come across before:
The Red Queen Effect.
The concept comes from Lewis Carroll’s book
Alice Through the Looking-Glass (1871).
Alice runs alongside the Red Queen.
Faster and faster.
When they stop, they are still in the very same place.
The Red Queen explains to Alice:
“Here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.”
Many sales organizations will recognize this.
More activity.
Higher pace.
More sales calls.
And yet:
Largely the same deals.
The same margins.
The same discussions.
This is not a failure.
It’s a sign of a mature market.
A few quiet days can be a good opportunity to ask some simple, but important questions:
👉 Where are we running faster without actually moving forward?
👉 What are we doing “just because everyone else is doing it”?
👉 What would create more impact than simply increasing the pace?
The Red Queen Effect is rarely broken by more energy.
It’s broken by clearer choices.
Sales organizations that evolve tend to follow a similar path:
They sell change, not features.
They choose which customers they are truly best suited for.
They plan for fewer, but better conversations.
Suddenly, the day-to-day work feels a little calmer.
And paradoxically, more effective.
This might be a question to take with you on a walk.
Or to reflect on over a cup of coffee, in the middle of the holiday bustle.
Have we increased the pace without actually moving forward? 🤔
The Red Queen Effect ends when speed gives way to choice.
A creation of a sales playbook is where it often begins.
