Is Your Check Engine Light On? (2 Min Read) | Vol. 149

May 02, 2025

“In an effort to go faster and outsmart the process, we turn to shortcuts, cut corners, and engage in short-term behavior. While it might seem like we’re going faster, these tiny debts accumulate into an anchor.” – Shane Parrish

Is Your Check Engine Light On?

In 1971, a popular ad campaign from the FRAM oil filter company perfectly illustrated a universal truth: “You can pay me now or pay me later.” The commercials featured a mechanic pointing out how a $4 oil filter can prevent a $200 repair. “You can pay me now,” he said, holding up the cheap filter, “or you can pay me later,” indicating the disassembled engine. The point? Routine maintenance today or big repair bills tomorrow. 

Software engineers call this “technical debt” – when today’s quick-and-easy solution becomes tomorrow’s expensive nightmare. It’s like using duct tape to fix a leaky pipe. It works until it doesn’t….

Remember Y2K? For decades, coders represented 4-digit years with the final two digits (“1980” = “80”.) This memory-saving shortcut threatened a global meltdown. What would happen when computers couldn’t distinguish between 1900 and 2000? No one knew. The final repair bill was a staggering $300-600 billion. Those memory savings got repaid with a mountain of interest! 

Technical debt pops up in life and business whenever you choose the easy button over long-term solutions: 

• Masking spending problems with another credit card
• Ignoring minor symptoms until they require major treatment
• Avoiding difficult conversations until relationships become unfixable
• Managing leads on scattered Post-Its instead of a proper CRM
• Rushing product launches without a proper infrastructure
• Panic-hiring instead of finding the right long-term fit

“Good enough for now” makes a shaky foundation. Maintenance seems boring until it is an emergency. The chronic costs created by short-term conveniences paint an unavoidable truth – it’s pay me now or pay me later with interest.

Sales coach Darrell Vesterfelt recently noted that when clients start asking for “hacks,” “tactics,” or “silver bullets” it’s like a check engine light flashing in their business. There is foundational work that needs to be addressed. 

One question to ponder in your thinking time: What “technical debt” in your business is charging you the highest interest rate? 

Make an Impact!
Jay Papasan
Co-author of The ONE Thing & The Millionaire Real Estate Agent