Supporting government technology means supporting people whose decisions affect lives, safety and justice. When your end users are people who fly drones, perform CPR, preside in a courtroom, put out fires or manage traffic in a major metroplex, you learn to act with the same characteristics they do.
When they need your help, they are likely logging into a computer with urgency to solve a complex problem. Our customers don’t call us because their technology failed. They call us because they can’t complete their mission. So when every second counts, their goal isn’t necessarily to be fast. It’s to be deliberately efficient. Ironically, the worst thing an IT professional can do is rush.
When a dispatcher calls...lives may be at risk.
When a police officer loses connectivity...they've lost access to information they depend on.
When a courtroom procedure can't begin...people are waiting.
Too many IT stories celebrate the “hero” who worked all night. I’ve been there, done that! But we should be celebrating the team whose preparation meant that nobody noticed.
Stephen Ng from HDI’s San Francisco Bay Area chapter recently asked me to sit on a panel to discuss “When Every Second Counts” and my preparations reminded me of Atul Gawande’s book, The Checklist Manifesto, where he points to some of the smartest people we know; an airline pilot and a surgeon. Neither of them will work without a checklist. They are brilliant individuals, but they rely on disciplined processes to reduce preventable mistakes.
When every second counts, preparation makes speed possible.
Our goal isn’t simply to restore technology. It’s to restore confidence. Enable people to go back to work and complete their missions!
In 1935, a Boeing aircraft crashed. The investigation revealed that the crew had missed a critical step. Rather than demanding pilots work faster, aviation introduced one of history’s most powerful innovations; the aviation checklist. And that lesson applies more than ever today.
When every second counts in IT, our first responsibility isn’t to react faster. It’s to verify we’re solving the right problem. Sometimes, the fastest restoration service begins with a deliberate pause.
In the middle of a Ransomware incident response, the most valuable advice I received was, “breathe.” That single word reminded me that preparation had already happened. The challenge wasn’t inventing a solution. It was executing one calmly. Leaders set the pace during critical incidents. If we sound frantic, our teams become frantic. If we communicate calmly, verify the facts, and model disciplined execution, our teams usually do the same.
I already knew how to respond.
We already knew what to fix.
But the road ahead was tough because we had to execute.
Whether in an operating room, an aircraft cockpit or at work in our IT service industry, experienced professionals don’t rely on memory when the stakes are high. They rely on disciplined processes that reduce preventable mistakes.
In high-stakes IT support, the first act of urgency isn’t movement. It’s clarity. I teach my teams that I don’t want them to know how to solve every problem. Every minute spent documenting today’s incident is an investment in tomorrow’s emergency. I want them to know how to find the critical documentation.
We should pause just long enough to understand, verify and communicate. Our end users don’t simply need us to be fast. They need us to be correct. When seconds count, accurate is faster than fixing the same problem twice.
I’m not advocating slower service. I’m advocating disciplined speed. Pause long enough to prevent costly mistakes and find the true resolution.
When every second counts, the most critical step we can take is to ensure we are solving the right problem.
The most valuable pause in incident response often lasts only between 10 and 20 seconds. Long enough to assess. Short enough to maintain momentum. Then apply what I call the “S.L.O.W. Method.” Over the years, I've found that our highest-performing technicians naturally follow four behaviors. I eventually gave those behaviors a name:
S.L.O.W. – A Key to Remove Complexity and Add Clarity
"What actually happened?"
The customer should never wonder whether anyone is working. Every update reduces uncertainty. Customers can tolerate waiting longer than they can tolerate wondering.
W:
Work the problem methodically
The public remembers the police officer, firefighter, judge or dispatcher they see. They rarely remember the IT professional behind the scenes. That's exactly how it should be. Our greatest success is measured by the missions that continue uninterrupted because we were prepared before the call ever came.
Great support organizations don't aspire to become faster. They aspire to become more prepared. Preparation creates confidence. Confidence creates accuracy. Accuracy creates speed. Missions continue.
About the Author
Susan Smith is a Program Manager at GTS Technology and a 2026 HDI Featured Contributor. Connect with Susan here on LinkedIn.