Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy

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Knowing where you are now, by being totally honest with yourself on your strengths/weaknesses, what motivates you, and what you truly want (not what you think you should want). I want to get my hands on every single strategy book out there to see the game from a broader point of view so I can learn how to minimize corporate bullying. Our heroes inspire us. That’s why it’s so powerful to surround yourself with them. The more we see them and the more we see them looking at us, the greater our chances of acting heroically. There are several strategic elements that determine if your business will grow, stagnate, or even collapse. To scale up and achieve exponential growth, you must:

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, changed his country’s direction until his inability to handle too much power led to the fall of an empire. He’s a reminder to never get so confident as to underestimate an opponent such as Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the revolt that exiled him. According to Bet-David, you can build culture by creating a set of company principles (for instance, honesty and diversity) and acting on them (for example, by leading CEO Q&A sessions and establishing a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee). Behaving in accordance with your principles lends you credibility in your team’s eyes. How fast you grow will be dictated by how well your team is working on your business. And to maximize results, you need to have mechanisms to hold people accountable. Ever feel a book rambles on, giving anecdotes that aren't useful? Often get frustrated by an author who doesn't get to the point?Beta test the new process. Find a subset of customers to test and see how the new process functions In doing so, don’t compromise your quirks or other things that may seem weird to others—these idiosyncrasies are important because of what you have experienced and the way you are wired. You really need to get clear about what you can sacrifice and what you absolutely will not sacrifice. It will lead you to create your own list of nonnegotiables.

The best leaders have the ability not only to believe in future truths but also to inspire others to believe and execute their vision. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered a Special Message on Urgent National Needs to a joint session of Congress. JFK’s goal was clear: “before this decade is out… landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” With five months to spare, that future truth became reality when, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Emotion can get the best of all of us and cloud our judgment. It’s why my answer about the key to success for people at all levels of business is “Know how to process issues.” Insecure leaders surround themselves with “yes people.” Effective leaders surround themselves with people who challenge them. They also find and hire people who are much smarter than they are—especially in areas in which they are weak. Shortform note: Kim Scott’s concept of radical candor is arguably a more nuanced look at Bet-David’s constructive honesty, which Scott applies mostly to supervisor-employee relationships. Scott breaks radical candor into two components: showing care for the employee and showing a willingness to have difficult conversations that improve their work. When it comes to inter-employee relationships, Scott believes employees should practice radical candor in a healthy debate culture. By teaching your subordinates to demonstrate care and honesty toward each other during debate, you encourage them to improve each other’s ideas without draining anyone’s emotional energy.) The Fourth Step: Grow Your Business the Right Way List your tasks and skills. Make a list of all your tasks and skills and determine which ones you are the best at and which ones you are not. Focus on your strengths, and replace yourself on all the other tasksIm not saying the message of the book is not good, because it is...its just too much to listen to ;) You’ll know you’re succeeding in life when others are winning simply because of their association with you.”

Shortform note: Bet-David recommends having firm conviction in your product and position, but it’s easy to lose that conviction in high-pressure negotiations. If this happens, you might try a power pose: a stance in which you make yourself big by putting your hands on your hips or above your head. Though there’s debate as to whether this tactic increases testosterone and decreases stress hormones, as researchers initially claimed, power posing still might simply make you feel more confident.) Method 3: Develop Negotiating Power by Seeking Many Options Alongside the growth, you also need to create a contingency plan to replace any important position. Did you get that last sentence? You must act like a great company (or a great entrepreneur/intrapreneur) long before you ever become one. Are you following? Let me explain. In The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman divides the ways you give and receive love into 5 categories:To be the best you can be, you must first know who you want to be, where you wish to go, and what factors should drive your decisions. Bet-David breaks this down into 3 parts: Your team judges you. They are seeing if you’re developing yourself and finding ways to take the company to the next level. If you don’t, they will leave. Create A Replacement Game Plan Make specific quantitative statements, not blanket qualitative ones. Give them specific challenges to meet that can be measured and have deadlines.

Read more on team-building and performance management in the summaries for Work Rules! and High Output Management. MOVE #4: STRATEGIZE TO SCALE UPYour vision must align with who you want to be. Your choices must align with your vision. Your effort must align with the size of your vision. Your behavior must align with your values and principles. No matter what your line of work, staying successful means working well with other people, whether they are clients, customers, employees, investors, partners, or outside vendors.