Law 15: Do, or Do Not…
Judgment: “Do or do not, there is no try.”
Introduction
You know what’s worse than doing something you really didn’t want to do?
Having to do it twice.
This industry doesn’t hand out participation trophies. If it’s not done right the first time, you’re not just redoing a task—you’re burning labor, wasting packaging, and gut-punching your team.
The industry is still learning to walk in a world full of sprinters. There’s no slack in the system. No buffer. And when something breaks? It doesn’t just affect one person—it drags everyone down with it.
A single missed step doesn’t mean a single fix. It means dozens of them.
Transgression of the Law
It’s 710—oil day. Ro*in day. The Super Bowl for concentrate brands.
A store places a large order from a micro-producer—a passionate team that’s been begging for a shot. This was their moment. Their debut. Their name on the shelf next to the big dogs.
Sales worked their asses off to land the account.
Marketing created custom artwork just for the drop.
Packaging stayed late to hand-apply every label.
Distribution hustled through the night to get the product there on time.
Everything looked perfect. But when the first sale rang in… “Error Type 17.”
The products weren’t converted properly in BioTrack. Still marked as intermediate—hydrocarbon wax. Not a final good. Not eligible for sale.
The team had to take everything back. Convert every batch. Reassign every BioTrack ID.
And worst of all—cover the beautiful, custom labels with ugly Zebra barcodes.
The 710 window was already halfway closed by the time they returned.
The store couldn’t take the same order again.
The momentum was gone. The sale was lost.
And the brand missed its shot—because one person skipped one step.
Observance of the Law
A marketing director had everything dialed in for 4/20. All the sales were programmed, all the promo codes were live, and the discounts were stacked just right.
But instead of just trusting the system, she ran mock transactions the day before—testing not just the happy path, but every variation a budtender might encounter. She didn’t just test one product or one customer type—she tested them all.
And sure enough, she caught a silent killer:
The discount worked perfectly for rec, but wasn’t applying for med patients.
Had she not tested both, the error would’ve hit at open—confusing staff, irritating patients, and slowing down sales. But because she caught it early, she fixed it on the spot.
No one noticed. No one had to.
Interpretation
There’s no room for “close enough” in a crowded market with vendors chomping at the bit for a chance.
Margins are thin. Timelines are brutal.
And when you mess up? It’s never just one fix.
Wrong manifest location?
You’re pulling every unit and praying the batch still exists.
Label doesn’t scan?
Hope you’ve got a printer and a backup plan.
Because you’re relabeling—everything.
And while you’re scrambling, everyone else is waiting—sales, marketing, ops, leadership—watching their hard work unravel because of one avoidable mistake.
Do it right the first time. Or don’t do it at all.
Keys to Power (How to Use It):
Run a test scan. If it doesn’t scan for you, it doesn’t scan for them.
Double-check conversions. BioTrack doesn’t care about your label art.
Respect the chain. Your mistake affects more than you.
Reversal (When It Might Not Apply):
If you’re truly in an emergency, and you need to move dirty—flag it. Be loud. Be clear. Let your team know exactly where the fix will need to happen. But never make a dirty move without a plan for the cleanup.
Margin Notes:
“The worst mistakes aren’t the loud ones—they’re the ones that look perfect until they break.”
“You don’t have to be perfect. But you do have to be accountable.”
