THIS IS TOO MUCH! Part 6: The Business Plan That Burned Itself
THIS IS TOO MUCH!
Part 6 - The Business Plan That Burned Itself
When Four Brilliant Minds Forgot One Small Thing: Common Sense!
Background & Purpose
Intelligence can solve problems.
Planning can create opportunities.
Teamwork can multiply strengths.
But there is one small condition:
Someone must remember to use common sense!
This episode of THIS IS TOO MUCH! explores what happens when four people try to design the perfect business plan while completely ignoring its consequences.
Their ambition was simple:
Less work + More income = Successful Business
Their execution was...
well...
THIS IS TOO MUCH!
Opening Question
What happens when four people have a business plan, complete confidence, and absolutely no understanding of consequences?
Let's meet them.
Case Study
The Four Great Businessmen
In a small village lived four young men who had acquired quite a reputation.
Unfortunately...
it was not a reputation for intelligence.
They were careless, lazy and notorious for creating trouble.
People had stopped taking them seriously.
Their parents had finally lost patience.
One day, they were told:
"Enough is enough. If you want to live, learn to earn."
The four friends left home.
They were hurt.
They felt insulted.
They wanted to prove everyone wrong.
They sat together on a small bridge over a village water channel.
For the first time in their lives, they decided to become...
businessmen!
One of them announced confidently:
"We need a business with very little work and very high income."
The others nodded.
A brilliant beginning!
Idea No. 1 - Farming
The first friend said:
"We'll take some land on rent and start farming."
Everyone liked the idea.
Until the second friend asked:
"Fine. But where will we get the seeds?"
Silence.
"And fertiliser?"
More silence.
"And equipment?"
Even more silence.
The business plan had encountered its first mathematical obstacle.
Income − Investment = ?
Nobody knew.
Idea No. 2 - Sugarcane!
Suddenly, the third friend jumped up.
"I've got it!"
"Let's grow sugarcane."
Everyone looked impressed.
He explained proudly:
"No need to buy seeds every time. We'll use sugarcane setts from the crop."
"And once it grows, people will buy it."
The others looked at each other.
For approximately ten seconds...
they felt like agricultural entrepreneurs.
Then came the fourth friend's contribution.
He had identified a serious business risk.
"There is only one problem."
Everyone became attentive.
He continued:
"What if the villagers steal our sugarcane?"
Silence.
The first friend nodded.
"Excellent question."
The second agreed.
"Very serious risk."
The third added:
"Yes. We need security."
They sat there thinking.
Unfortunately...
their thinking went in the wrong direction.
The Brilliant SolutionThe Masterstroke
Instead of protecting their future crop...
they decided to deal with the villagers first.
Their plan was completely irrational and destructive.
They caused a fire in the village.
Chaos followed.
Villagers rushed about trying to protect their homes, families and belongings.
The four friends stood at a distance...
laughing.
And then came their extraordinary business logic.
One of them shouted:
"Aur khaoge ganne?"
"So! Will you eat our sugarcane now?"
Another laughed:
"Hamare business plan ki saari dhajjiyaan uda di!"
"You ruined our entire business plan!"
And the final message was essentially:
"Now suffer!"
At that moment...
the villagers realised exactly who had caused the trouble.
The four friends quickly discovered an important business principle they had somehow forgotten:
Customers are not supposed to be your enemies.
The villagers caught them, punished them and drove them out of the village.
Their grand business career...
ended before the first crop was ever planted.
No land.
No sugarcane.
No customers.
No profit.
Only...
one completely destroyed business plan.
THIS IS TOO MUCH!
Reflections
The four friends wanted:
Less Work + More Income
But they forgot the most important variable:
Consequences.
Their planning was not completely absent.
It was simply incomplete.
They identified one problem:
"What if someone steals our crop?"
But instead of asking:
"How can we protect the crop peacefully?"
they effectively asked:
"How can we eliminate the possibility of anyone enjoying it?"
That is not business strategy.
That is the collapse of reasoning.
The Mathivation Connection
Their thinking can be represented as:
Goal + Planning − Consequences = Disaster
Or more simply:
Business Plan − Common Sense = THIS IS TOO MUCH!
A good plan must consider more than:
Cost + Effort + Income
It must also include:
People + Risk + Ethics + Consequences
Therefore:
Sustainable Plan = Goal + Resources + People + Risk + Consequences
Leave out one major variable...
and the entire equation can fail.
Human Error of the Day
Solving the wrong problem.
Their real problem was:
"How do we protect our future crop?"
But they behaved as if the problem were:
"How do we make sure nobody can ever benefit from the crop?"
They did not eliminate the risk.
They eliminated the opportunity.
The Bigger Lesson
This story is funny because the four friends were convinced they were being clever.
But cleverness without judgment can become dangerous.
Planning without empathy can become destructive.
Confidence without reflection can become stupidity.
And intelligence without consequences...
is not intelligence at all.
Takeaways
- A plan is not successful merely because it sounds clever.
- Every plan needs a consequence check.
- Solving a problem should not create a bigger problem.
- People affected by a decision are part of the equation.
- Shortcuts can become very expensive when consequences are ignored.
- A good business creates value; it does not destroy the environment in which it hopes to operate.
Mathivation Note
Before executing any plan, perhaps we should ask five simple questions:
What?
Why?
How?
Who is affected?
What could go wrong?
A sixth question may save us from many disasters:
"If this works exactly as planned, what happens next?"
Because sometimes...
even a successful plan can produce a terrible outcome.
A Simple Mathivation Model
We can think of decision quality as:
Decision Quality = Goal + Evidence + Resources + Consequences + Ethics
If:
Consequences = 0
then the decision may look brilliant on paper...
but fail spectacularly in reality.
The Plan CollapsesBad Risk Management = Fear of Risk × Poor Consequence Analysis
Wise Decision = Opportunity + Risk Assessment + Consequence Analysis
Disclaimer
This is a humorous fictional case study created for educational reflection. The destructive act described in the story is presented only as an example of irrational and harmful decision-making.
The article does not endorse, encourage or provide instructions for property destruction, arson, violence or harm to people or communities.
Names, setting and characters are fictionalised, and the purpose is to examine critical thinking, planning, consequences and ethical decision-making through humour.
Closing Note
The four friends wanted to prove one thing:
"We can succeed."
Unfortunately...
they proved something else.
A business needs:
Planning.
A plan needs:
Resources.
Resources need:
Protection.
Protection needs:
Wisdom.
And wisdom begins with one simple ability:
Think beyond the next step.
They had a plan.
They had confidence.
They had teamwork.
They even had risk identification.
What they didn't have...
was common sense.
And when common sense disappears from the equation...
THIS IS TOO MUCH!
Curious Question
Have you ever seen a plan that looked brilliant at first - but became ridiculous when someone finally asked, "What happens next?"
Perhaps the most important part of planning is not finding the first answer...
but imagining the last consequence.
Signature Thought
"A clever plan solves the problem. A wise plan also checks what problem it may create."
With Mathivation, Humour & Human Understanding,
Rakesh Kushwaha
Founder, Mathivation Research Lab
A Mathivation Research Lab Initiative
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