Self-Care, Buddy Care, Medic Care

The first time I learned about “Tactical Combat Casualty Care”, I was sitting in a stuffy government training trailer with ten other people.

The instructor, a former combat medic, started by saying something I'll never forget:

"In a really gnarly situation, the person most likely to save your life isn't a doctor. It's you, or the dude next to you."

Over and over, we practiced applying tourniquets to our own arms, jamming things up each other’s noses, and running through scenarios where help wasn't coming anytime soon.

The framework was deceptively simple:

Self-Care, Buddy Care, Medic.

Fix yourself.

If you can’t, have a buddy help.

If they can’t, then look for external help.

I realize many many years later - this framework has huge applications to how I want my team solving their problems at our company - and it should inform your team’s too!

Self-Care

Self-care in business means equipping each team member with the basic tools and knowledge they need to solve common problems independently.

This means:

• Clear, accessible documentation.

• Thoughtful, self-paced onboarding that covers the systems people actually use.

• Resource libraries that answer the questions you hear most often.

The key is making these resources genuinely usable.

That dense operations manual from 2018 that nobody can find won't help anyone.

A searchable wiki with screenshots showing exactly how to reset a password will actually do something useful... imagine that.

AI also makes this WAY easier.

Small businesses often skip this step.

It seems easier to just answer questions as they come.

But when the same tech issue interrupts your day for the fifth time this week, you'll wish you'd invested in better “self-service” tools.

You'll be thinking, "For fuck's sake, not this again."

Save your own life first…. ie solve your own problems first.

But what happens when someone can’t fix it themselves? That’s where Buddy Care kicks in.

Buddy Care

When self-service fails, the next line of defense should be peer support.

Before problems escalate to management or specialized personnel, colleagues helping colleagues happens next.

This requires the right culture - but it is fairly intuitive once it is going.

You need an environment where knowledge flows quickly & freely... where the person who's figured out the inventory system…. can help the person who's struggling with it.

A few thoughts:

• Have you created channels where questions can be asked without shame (and importantly without the boss seeing! Sometimes people get self conscious here)?

• Do you acknowledge those who consistently help others?

The strongest small businesses build informal “helpful communities of practice” where expertise is shared generously.

Information and help does not always flow UP - it often flows ACROSS in this scenario.

Medic Care

Some issues truly require specialized expertise.

Your IT person for complex system issues. Your most seasoned sales manager for delicate customer situations. External support for technical problems.

The key is making this escalation path clear and accessible.

Everyone should know what issues warrant immediate escalation.

Who to contact for specific problems.

How to reach them effectively.

What information to provide.

The right context provided (not just 'it’s broken').

Too many businesses create bottlenecks by making managers the default "medics" for every problem.

Specialized knowledge requires specialized support - but that is WAY less common than you think.

Making It Work as a System

The brilliance of this approach is how each level strengthens the others.

When the "medics" repeatedly solve similar problems, they should create self-service resources for next time.

When buddies frequently help with the same issue, that signals a gap in training or documentation.

When self-service resources work well, they free up both peers and specialists for more complex challenges.

I've seen firsthand how this approach transforms a company.

Problems get solved faster.

Knowledge spreads rather than concentrates.

People feel more capable and less frustrated... and you hear a lot less "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing here."

That combat medic instructor was right.

In business as in combat, the most effective help is often the help that's closest.

Build a system that recognizes this reality, and you'll create a more resilient, capable organization every single day.

Self-service clears the space for buddy care.
Buddy care reveals where training is weak.
“Medic” interventions create the next generation of self-service tools.
Around and around — tightening the system every time.

Yallah Habibi,

Jon

P.S.

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• "A Place at the Table: Supporting Women in Global Roles" hosted by Binsi Das (50+ live attendees)

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