Funny Story: Would you pass the test?

There was once a small company that was founded by a group of friends who met each other while they worked for a big corporation. Working there they felt like they were just cogs in a machine not worth much. Even when they dealt with customers everything was so impersonal and rushed. It was always about the numbers not about the person in front of them. The group of friends felt like they were losing themselves in all of it. So they designed a test to help them guide their decisions with the problems they would face in the future. If the idea or suggestion did not pass the test then they would not go with the change, but if the suggestion passed the test then they would go forward with it. So the first issue for the test was if they should stay at the big corporation where they had a secure job but felt unhappy or should they leave and start their own company. The first question if they should stay did not pass the test, while the second question if they should start their own company did.

When the group of friends started their own company they made a pact to never allow for business to be just about numbers. They decided they would make a difference in their field and that they would know their clients, their business, and their business needs. For the group of friends, business was personal. After a pretty successful start, they soon found themselves in trouble because of dumping prices from competitors, and even if the buyer didn’t decide to take the dumping prices they still had their own KPI’s about costs and how much they were willing to pay, which was always lower then the group of friend calculated they would be able to sell for. With everything of this going on they still worked on building a personal relationship with each hospital representative and many times that helped them out. But there were times when this backfired and the hospital representative would try to take advantage of them to get lower prices with the competition. After some years working like this, they forgot about their “test” and business was just about numbers again.

After some time this happened a representative of a mental hospital which also had the same mission as the group of friends to make business personal noticed the change. Wanting to get the group of friends back on the “path” the representative called a meeting with all of them as they have not been to the hospital for quite a while. The group of friends of course made time for the meeting as this hospital was a big client. The hospital representative started the meeting with a history of their relationship and then started a tour of the hospital and how it changed. Not long into the tour, a couple of friends got annoyed with it all and to blow off some steam made some insensitive and insulting remarks about the patients. The hospital representative did not comment on their behavior and continued the tour. After the tour, the group of friends was invited to the cafeteria for snacks and a chance to meet other hospital staff, maybe even some of the management would come through.

The hospital representative made sure to stay close to the group of friends that were disrespectful during the tour. And when he finally heard another disrespectful question he quickly intervened. You see one of the friends asked really loudly, “Is everyone in here sick and crazy?” The representative with a smile answered, “No my friend. you see the ones we keep here are only the ones who do not pass the test.” With this statement, the representative got the attention of everyone from the group. “Pass the test,” surprisingly repeated one of the friends, “What is the test?” he continued. The representative replied, “Well, we show them a bath filled with water, a large bucket, a large cup, and a spoon. We then ask them what the quickest way to empty the water in the bath would be?”

The group of friends looked at the representative shocked. They were afraid to give an answer as they didn’t want to be wrong. But finally, one of the friends mustered the courage and said, “That’s pretty simple. Everyone that is normal knows it’s the bucket. Right?” and laughed. Now each member of the group of friends agreed with their friend. The hospital representative stayed quiet and watched as they all discussed why this is the correct solution. When they finally calmed down and asked the representative to confirm their answer he simply replied, “No, actually the normal ones say pull out the plug. Maybe I should see if we have enough beds free for all of you?” Suddenly everyone stood speechless. The representative broke the silence, “Dear friend, we started working together because we had the same goal, to make and keep business personal. I see that you have lost your way and I hope that after today you will get back on it. If not I have to inform you that you didn’t pass our test and we will have to find a new supplier. What about your test which was the reason you started your business, can you say you still pass your test?”