I was at the podiatrist today. Toes are killing me.
Turns out it’s not my toes, it’s my feet. Doc said my feet are not moving properly, causing pain in the toes.
And it turns out it’s not really my feet either. My ankles are popping and cracking, lots of grizzle, and it’s blocking my feet from moving properly. That is leading to the pain in my toes.
So, there you go.
But get this. It’s not my ankles either. My Achilles, that’s the real issue. My Achilles tendon is so tight it’s yanking on the ankle, making that pop and crack which is blocking my feet from moving properly, and leading to those toes you’ve heard so much about.
Upstream.
Last year I was at the chiropractor. Back was killing me.
Turns out it wasn’t my back. It was my hips. My hips are tight, hip flexor especially, and that’s pulling off my posture and making my back hurt.
And then the chiropractor tells me I can’t really blame this kind of back pain on my hips. It’s my hamstrings. Those big suckers. They are so beat up they yank down on the hips, making them tight, especially the flexors, so the hips are compensating. Pulling my back out of alignment and causing the pain.
Downstream.
Dr. Kelly Starrett talks about working upstream and downstream, hunting around for what’s causing you pain and soreness. He is a world class physical therapist, so he knows a thing or two.
Knee hurts, work on the calf, work on the thigh. Elbow hurts, get the forearm and the triceps. Get after the source, not the symptom.
It works for more than just sore muscles and joints. Businesses move up and down stream as well.
Amazon went upstream to the cloud with AWS, they went upstream with Amazon Basics, and they went downstream to delivery.
Costco went upstream buying a damn poultry farm to insure ample supply of $4.99 chickens.
Meta recently announced the impact on Apple’s updated privacy features, and it’s going to cost them 10 billion dollars. Meta is beholden to Apple and Google, that is where their product is consumed. Downstream.
So, they are pushing into VR, the Oculus is their flatform, and they are headed downstream to sell them as well with physical Meta stores.
Vertical integration. Pulling different stages of the supply chain, production, and distribution process in house, giving you more control and making you more durable.
If you can’t control what’s coming and where it’s going, you leave yourself and your business vulnerable. Like a bad knee or a sore back, it’s going to limit your output.
Where can you take control and build a more durable business? Where can you work upstream and downstream?
You can start small. Look at the partners and platforms you use, that you don’t control, and look to bring those in house. Look at intermediaries, look at the middle men, the brokers, can you have a more direct relationship with your customers and suppliers?
Hunt around for things that are upstream and downstream where you can add value, improve performance, and work out those pain points.
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