The One Thing That’s Always in Your Control
Marcus Aurelius on where your power is Two business owners face the same problem. Their biggest client suddenly leaves. One panics. They scramble to replace the lost revenue, making rushed decisions that weaken the business further. They cut prices. They chase any client they can find. They spend sleepless nights stressing over what went wrong. […]
Acting with Intention
Marcus Aurelius on how to use the time you have Most owners I talk to assume they’ll always have more time. Time to scale (eventually). Time to launch the next thing (maybe next year). Time to figure it all out (once things slow down). They don’t. The owners who grow and the owners who stay […]
Win by Focusing
Sun Tzu on concentration as strategy “And if I concentrate while he divides, I can use my entire strength to attack a fraction of his.” — Sun Tzu You start a business eager to serve as many customers as possible. At first it seems like a smart move. More customers should mean more sales. As […]
Win Where Others Aren’t Competing
Sun Tzu on hitting where they aren’t looking “Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends, hit him where he does not expect you. To be certain to take what you attack is to attack a place the enemy does not protect.” — Sun Tzu You lower your prices. Customers still choose the bigger […]
Leverage Changes Everything
Sun Tzu on the ball rolling downhill “Thus one need use but little strength to achieve much… one must take advantage of the situation exactly as if he were setting a ball in motion on a steep slope. The force applied is minute but the results are enormous.” — Sun Tzu Running a small business […]
Delegation Done Right
Sun Tzu on matching the work to the person “Do not charge people to do what they cannot do. Select them and give them responsibilities commensurate with their abilities.” — Sun Tzu Running a small business often feels like juggling a hundred tasks at once. You know you should delegate more. It’s hard. Maybe it’s […]
Managing Teams Through Constructive Conflict
Sun Tzu on when to engage and when to wait “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” — Sun Tzu You walk into your business and sense the unspoken tension. Two team members are barely speaking. Tasks are slipping. The mood feels off. You hope it’ll blow over. The […]
Building Unstoppable Momentum
Sun Tzu on how the flow gets strong “When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum.” — Sun Tzu In a business, the heaviest obstacles aren’t usually moved by brute force. They’re moved by momentum. Like water gaining strength as it flows, momentum builds over time and starts to carry things that […]
Every Move Matters
Sun Tzu on planning without waste “In planning, never a useless move; in strategy, no step taken in vain.” — Sun Tzu If you’re like most owners I know, you’re busy almost all the time. Being busy doesn’t always mean being productive. Days get filled with tasks that feel urgent but don’t contribute to long-term […]
Finding Opportunity in Chaos
Sun Tzu on what AI is doing to your industry This morning, reading The Art of War, I came across this: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” It made me think about the wild and rapid changes artificial intelligence is bringing to nearly every industry. For small businesses, AI is shaking up […]
Visionary Leadership
Sun Tzu on seeing what others miss “To foresee a victory which the ordinary man can foresee is not the acme of skill.” — Sun Tzu This morning, reading The Art of War, I came across the story of Han Hsin. His strategy seemed absurd. His own generals doubted him. The Chao army mocked him […]
Focus on What You Can Control
Sun Tzu and the Serenity Prayer agree This morning I read this: “That which depends on me, I can do; that which depends on the enemy cannot be certain.” — Sun Tzu The passage reminds me of the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to […]