Two is one. One is none

Two is one. One is none.

Elite military units like the Navy SEALs have a saying, “Two is one. One is none.” In practical terms, it means having a backup option for anything considered mission-critical.

If you only have one option, and it fails, you are left with nothing. Whereas if you have two options, you can still complete the mission.

I had a practical reminder of the importance of this philosophy during a client strategic planning session this week.

I always aim to arrive 1-hour early to an event to set up the room and test all the equipment. But heavy rainfall and gridlock on the Auckland southern motorway added an extra hour to my anticipated 1.5-hour commute from the country town of Waiuku (where I live) to Auckland city.

Fortunately, after a (bladder-punishing) 2.5-hour drive in the pouring rain, I arrived at the venue with 10 minutes to spare, but suffice to say, I was feeling frazzled!

My client is expanding their operations globally, and invited a representative of the New Zealand Government (NZ Trade & Enterprise) to attend their strategic planning session as an observer.

As you can imagine, I was keen to make a good impression.

The leadership team and NZTE manager were already seated in the conference room, drinking coffee, ready for me to start the session.

I quickly introduced myself, then proceeded to connect my laptop to the conference room’s big screen monitor and audio system, and set up a Zoom meeting for a leadership team member who would be joining the strategy session remotely from Australia.

Like a duck swimming on a pond, I tried to appear calm and serene on the surface, but under the water, my legs were paddling furiously.

Just then, a critical technology failure occurred. My laptop would not power up. Nooooooooo!

My laptop is mission-critical to my work. It contains the slide presentations and workbooks I use to facilitate client strategy sessions and coaching sessions.

I had about 20 minutes of battery life, but when I plugged the charger in, the laptop would not charge. I tried different wall sockets. Different extension cords. Still not charging.

The clock was ticking…

People were glancing at their watches. I felt a bead of sweat trickling down my spine.

My go-to workhorse computer is a custom-built Dell laptop that is fully tricked out with an overkill amount of added grunt for video production. Eventually, it dawned on me that my 130-watt plug-in power adapter had failed (pictured in the image Bianca created for me above).

Most laptop power adapters are in the 45-65 watt range. Even if I borrowed someone else’s charger, it would have been woefully insufficient to power up my super grunty laptop.

At this stage it became clear to the people in the room that I was in deep poop! Or was I?

Two is one. One is none.

Fortunately, I have 2 laptops with me at all times. My other laptop is a super slim ultrabook with a small screen, but it is more than sufficient to get the job done.

One of my disciplines every Saturday morning is to prepare my notes and presentations for the client sessions I am conducting over the coming week. Then I make sure both laptops are in sync and all software and drivers are updated.

No matter what happens, whether I am working from home or travelling, I can swap out laptops and be up and running again within 2 minutes if a worst-case scenario happens, even if I am midway through a client session.

And that’s exactly what happened on this occasion. With only a minimal delay, I got the 2nd laptop fired up and the planning event went well (it was a Quarterly Strategic Review).

My client is placing bold, but well-considered strategic bets to geographically expand their business (hopefully with the added support of the NZ government). It is thrilling to see them making great progress at a time when many of their competitors are struggling or going out of business.

The NZTE manager spoke to the room at the end of the day, saying that she wished all Kiwi businesses were as disciplined and rigorous with their approach to strategic planning.

My return journey took half the time. I arrived home with a pounding headache, and my smart watch told me my HRV (Heart Rate Variability) was poor. “You need to focus on recovery,” it said. No s..t!

But I would have felt 10X worse if I had not incorporated the “Two is one. One is none” philosophy into my work.

What is mission-critical for your business?

For me, it is the technology I need to operate my client coaching sessions, 95% of which are conducted virtually.

I’ve already discussed my 2 laptops policy.

My wife Bianca and I live in a rural setting, and internet reliability and cellphone connectivity have been patchy in the past. At the beginning of 2024, we switched to Starlink satellite internet, and it has been a game-changer in terms of internet speed and uptime.

More recently, we switched cellphone providers to take advantage of Starlink’s new satellite cellphone service. At the time of writing, NZ is being trialled as the first country to offer it.

Another mission-critical item for me is punctuality. I allow a very conservative commuting time buffer if I have to drive into Auckland city (the motorway traffic is notoriously unpredictable).

When flying to an event, I insist on flying the day prior, and never on the day of the event. I don’t take the last flight of the day either. I want the option of a 2nd flight later that evening if my original flight is impacted. Remember the rule, “Two is one. One is none.”

Even though company directors of my client firms sometimes fly to the venue on the morning of a strategic planning event, can you imagine how damaging it would be for my personal brand if I was booked to facilitate a planning session, but my flight was delayed or cancelled and I did not show up to the event on time?

It costs me an additional night’s accommodation, but I sleep better knowing that I am already at the location I will be working in the next day.

This mindset carries over to my personal life. I tend to buy 2 of everything: 2 of each item of clothing, 2 of each household appliance. My wife Bianca (somehow) tolerates me storing backup espresso machines, toasters, kettles, blenders, heaters, keyboards, and monitors, etc, in the attic (still in their original boxes)!

What is mission-critical to your business?

Where would you benefit from having a backup option?

For example, is your business vulnerable to:

One key supplier?
One key customer?
One distribution channel?
One staff member with proprietary knowledge?

Where can you apply the “Two is one. One is none” philosophy in your business to help you sleep better at night?

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Until next time…
Stephen