There are many similarities between a company in trouble and an individual who has been in a horrible accident. The accident victim may have several broken bones, which will require setting and perhaps even surgery, but the first job of the emergency room doctor is to ensure that the victim lives long enough to have those bones set. After all, if his bleeding goes unchecked and he bleeds to death, the broken bones are rather immaterial. So what do we do first for the sick company? We stop the bleeding.
We know that accident victims hemorrhage blood, and the emergency room doc must keep that blood from leaking out. Similarly, we know that sick companies hemorrhage cash, and we must stop the cash from leaking out or the company will cease to exist.
