Small and Slow

I am constructing this blog from the business lounge in Seoul, Korea as I wind my way home from the family adventure we embarked upon, loosely known as “why are you going to Vietnam?” Naming the lounge has its point in this discussion. The sterile oasis that I am working in is in stark contrast to the buzz, hum and squawk of the back alleys of Hanoi that we just left behind.  There are so many stories that are allegorical for me to reflect upon that over the next few blogs I will reference the crucible of humanity that pulses and seethes in Southeast Asia to the work we do as chiropractors and how important we all are in the mosaic of life.  

This privileged perch in Seoul causes me to reflect on two concepts that I will reference as small and slow.  The portions that we are served in both drinks and meals are deliciously to the point.  When you look around in Hanoi or elsewhere in Vietnam, there is NO obesity. We land in Seoul and there it is again…the protuberant abdomen and the puffy, bloated Western traveler.  Small and efficient works.  The portions reflect the quest for value and excellence.  Intensity, rather than excess, is honored.  I also noted the incredibly efficient use of space.  Oh, how we could learn to maximize our offices to be powerful, efficient and glamorous all in one.  Small is powerful and it reminds me to comment on the power of the chosen word rather than the need to tell the whole story  of chiropractic and scan reporting in one endless run-on sentence. 

Being in a country where communication with the population all but ceases reminds me of what it must be like for a patient hearing about subluxation for the first time. There are lots of nods and smiles but the outcome is limited to a haphazardly constructed point of view based on the occasional familiar word. Imagine what you would say to someone who speaks a different language and then imagine how succinct and powerful your reports would be. What key words would you use to get your point across? How would you contain your frustration when the message gets lost in translation?  What visual props help to bridge the language barriers? This is where the brilliance of the NSFi numbering system or the use of specific scan reporting makes all the difference. I suggest that you remember to step back and think slow and small in your reporting.  “It’s unhealthy to have a low number and to have many regions of color on your scans.  Our care plans focus on raising this number which means that the spine and the nervous system are healing.”  Period.

Before I leave you from Seoul, I want to share a story about the value of slow. One morning I was in central Vietnam in a city named Hoi An.  I rented a bike just after dawn and took off to explore the surroundings before the family got going.  About 4 km away from the hotel, the chain popped off the bike and there I was stranded on the side of the road.  No big deal to fix the situation except that the chain was so stretched that it kept coming off as I pedaled.  The adventure took on many faces over the ensuing 4 km. I stopped and had tea with a motorcycle repairman who “fixed” the problem. As I resumed my usual fast and aggressive pedaling the chain stretched and popped off again. I tried as I might to fix the problem but conventional strategies failed. I was doomed to walk the bike home.  I flagged down a passing motorcyclist who had me sit behind him and drag the bike until we almost both died.  Finally, an ancient woman on a bicycle, toothless and picking up empty cans along the road, waved to me and had me come over to her.  With deft fingers she massaged the chain back onto the sprockets and then imparted the greatest wisdom…go slow to get home.  Rather than pushing the limits and failing each time, I followed her wise advice and felt each link of the chain engage.  I stifled the tendency to go for it as I knew the system would fail.  Gradually I got a feel for the pace and voila, the hotel appeared.  I think back on this lesson and realize how often I have tried to go for it with inferior systems in place.  The only lesson that I kept learning was how to fail and get frustrated with what was in place. My advice for practice is to go slow and get a feel for the systems you have.  Realize their limits but also realize that the fundamentals have to be in place before a successful launch.  Do your homework before your hit the road. Find out where the systems will fail and go slow with the intention to succeed and meet very wise people along the way.