I used to go to the office by cab.

Google knew my office location.

I saved it as my favorites.

Hence driving to office was a no brainer.

I just had to put the destination as “office” in the app.

The cab driver would drop me at the office.

During the drive,

I was able to focus on reading and replying to my emails.

Without being bothered about the route.

Everything was running in “auto mode”.

Then the environment changed.

A bridge was built just before the office.

It was a kilometer long bridge.

I was unaffected.

There was no reason to be affected.

My destination was still the same.

Google adjusted the path.

Now Cab drivers had to go on the service lane.

And take a right turn under the bridge. 

One day,

A cab driver missed the service lane.

He went over the bridge.

That day I realized,

It was not only one kilometer of bridge.

The next u-turn was another kilometer ahead.

Here was the impact of the mistake.

I was 20 minutes late for my meeting.

And I had to spend a few extra bucks.

Since then alertness has become a competence.

I still focus on my mails but I focus on the route too.

Especially where a cab driver can miss the service lane.

I am still trying to find a solution to go back on “auto mode”.

Alag Nahin Hai

All business leaders strive to put the business operations on “auto mode”. However, the business environment is ever changing. Leaders need to develop the competence of alertness especially for those areas where there is a high probability of things going wrong, which can cost time and money, till the time they find a solution to put the business operation back on “auto mode”.