Alarms

One of the more interesting medical events I have experienced was related to a heart issue. An abnormal EKG lead to a CAT scan (with nuclear contrast)  which lead to an Angioplasty and that lead to stents to repair blockage. All is well. The process was amazing and quick.

After this procedure, while traveling from south Texas to north Texas on Highway 281 in Falfurrias, I passed through the Border Patrol Station where the agents screen occupants and content of every vehicle. The non-commercial vehicles stop at a designated area where the agents look in and outside the vehicle while dogs do their sniffing job. I had rolled my window down so I could look the agent in the eyes to make sure he knew that I was not showing signs of stress or nervousness, and assure him that I, my vehicle and contents were perfectly legal. They normally ask your citizenship status, and when you confirm that you are a US citizen, they bid you a good day as they await the next vehicle. Although I had been through this check-point many times, this time was different. The agent had a small device attached to his belt that set off an alarm signaling the presence of radiation coming from MY vehicle! That alarm launched a deeper search, which was satisfied after I shared my recent medical experience. The alarm worked and the agent addressed the concern to make sure that nothing more sinister was in play.

How many times in business do we hear the silent alarms going off and ignore them the way we all ignore car alarms. The alarms may indicate a small matter that we simply work around and adjust our behavior to develop a way of doing business, without addressing the cause of the alarm. The alarm may be as as simple as someone who is chronically late for regularly scheduled meetings. They alarm-triggering people stroll into the meeting late, as they always do and the silent alarms sounds deep inside and yet it is ignored by they in charge. Likely the others, who are always on time, do not ignore their internal alarms and a quiet rage or lack of trust grows that causes a damaging level of disenchantment. They ask: "Why are the alarms ignored"?

When we fail to address the cause of the small silent alarms we desensitize ourselves and soon enough we are spending all of our time avoiding the causes, inevitiablly resulting in a colossal and very expensive waste of valuable time. Don't ignore the alarms. Take action, quickly to address and remedy the cause because they just might turn into a "nuclear-like-event" and cause massive damage to the business and the cause, that could have been prevented with quick and decisive action.