way of the warrior part two- taking on multiple opponents

"a stand against many opponents is when an individual fights against a group...it will be hard to make headway if you only chase the opponents around en masse.  then again, if you think about getting them one after another as they come forth you will have a sense of waiting and so [you] will also have a hard time making headway.  the thing is to win by sensing an opponents' rhythm and knowing where they break down."
-miyamoto musashi the book of five rings pp44

not a day goes by in the warehouse where there aren't multiple opponents.  in many instances it's very easy to see the rhythm of how things should be tackled.  in many more instances there is so much to do that you find yourself wondering why you came into work in the first place.   

the other day there were two floor mixers that had sold but were not entirely in working order.  both needed to be taken care of.  one had a small mechanical issue requiring pounding out a set pin and a spot welding.  very straight forward.  the other mixer wouldn't even start at all, which we diagnosed as a problem with the motor.  working on motors is not easy.  in fact, in many general instances it's cheaper just to buy a new motor, both in time and money.  so as a warrior, upon whom should you mount your first attack?  the quick fix or the faulty motor that could turn into a colossal waste of time, leaving you with nothing accomplished?  the answer may be surprising...

"discerning the order in which opponents attack, deal with those who press forward first; keeping an eye on the whole picture, determining the stands from which opponents launch their attacks, swinging both [your] swords without mutual interference..."
-miyamoto musashi the book of five rings pp44

sir frederick and i had to get the faulty motor mixer working because: a.) it would take both of our collective mental energy and time, and if we worked on the quick fix mixer we might be short on both when we needed it to fix the motor.  in short, the weaker opponent was doing us no harm while the mighty opponent was waiting to crush us and b.) a person was coming to buy it that day and they had a sizeable check with them...

a couple of hours and lots of obscenities later we had a sense of the rhythm, found the break down, and went for the kill.  then we got our checks and all was right with the universe.