The Doctor, The Mechanic and their Business

Reyjo's Notion Series: Episode 11

We all are going through a phase of our life which will be remembered, for the value we created for the future generations, utilizing the additional time and space available to us, during this pandemic. Personnel engaged in the essential services are an exception (with relation to additional time). The value addition that we pursue now would be relevant for the sustenance of both our business and the life of each person as a whole. Let me start with the famous awe-inspiring conversation between a doctor and a mechanic.

A mechanic was removing the engine parts from a racing car when he saw a famous heart surgeon in his shop.

He went to him & said, "Look at this engine... I opened its heart, took the valves out, repaired and put them back. So why do I get such a small salary? and you get huge sums???"

The doctor smiled at the mechanic, came close to his ear and said, "Try the same when the engine is running."

The story doesn't end here. The mechanic smiled back, came close to doctor's ear and said, "I can pick any dead engine and make it alive... But can you ???"

Now let’s apply this to business and try to see things from a unique perspective. If you were the doctor of your business, you will presumably be engaged in your business as follows;

• You will follow up the health of your business at regular intervals.
• You would give adequate cooling time to non-essential tasks only for it to produce better results when it returns to business after being fully rejuvenated.
• You will monitor and inspect the processes and provide supplements that leads to improvement and reduces the chances for them to get failed.
• You will consider amputation ie; to permanently shut down certain processes to save your business. Saving the life is always the primary consideration. You will do everything to save your business.
• You know that even the healthiest business can succumb to inevitable adverse circumstances; so, you can only try.
• The best doctor can bring back the business from its failure; at least to a certain extent.
• Outdated technology and business models mean death; the end of business.

On the other hand, most of the industries are now finding themselves in the shoes of a mechanic. The engine is shut down and they know that they need their business up and running at a short notice. Being optimistic, you may consider that the notice is not that far. If your business is one among the temporarily shut downs, then you must be applying the mechanic’s version of the story to get the pespective.

• For many years, you thought there is no additional time to promote R&D testing. But you now sense the opportunity.
• Before making the positions redundant, consider employing these staff to strengthen other essential parts of your business which you will certainly require when you will return to operations.
• There is a change in health and safety regulations. Consider adding new features to your car.
• There will be some smoke and noise when you return. So, be vary of these.
• If you are in to consulting, understand that your role would also include offering your clients information about the best route to reach their destination safely as they are also about to get a ‘changed feel’ when they would be taking to the roads after the repair and overhaul.
• There were processes that occasionally kept your business choking. Its time to inspect those and if required, go for an overhaul. An example that comes to my mind here is about the ‘baggage losses’ of passengers travelling by air. Now is the time to address this issue. I am adding some statistics below, if you may find it interesting.

The U.S Department of Transportation maintains air travel consumer reports, which include statistics on mishandled baggage. For the first quarter of 2017, Virgin America was ranked first for reports of lost luggage with 1.45 reports per 1,000 passengers.

There is no ‘one-choice’ among being the doctor or the mechanic that can make wonders to your business.

The effort here would be to consider thinking like a mechanic, if need be; even if you like yourself to be called a doctor.