In early 2002, the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq. To put the plan into action, they started working on shaping public opinion. The main argument was Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction.” But the press was not convinced. In one of the news briefings, journalists questioned Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld about the lack of…
Articles
Critical Mass In Business: How To Reach “The Success Moment”
Everything is hard at the beginning. Started a business? Good luck finding your first 50 customers. New social media account? Getting your first 10,000 followers takes forever. People put in the effort (and money) for months, but don’t get any visible return back. It’s frustrating. So most people quit at this stage. Crossing the valley of…
Synergy In Business: How YouTube went from near failure to global dominance
In April 2005, YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the first video on the platform: Me at the zoo. And the platform went live. The founders expected YouTube to succeed. But nobody imagined it would happen that fast. People loved uploading and watching videos. In one year, YouTube reached 25 million daily views. And new users kept coming.…
Sustainable Competitive Advantages: Become Irreplaceable (With Examples)
“In business, I look for economic castles protected by unbreachable ‘moats.’” That’s how Warren Buffett answered a question on what he looks for in a business to invest in. What did he mean by a moat? Let me explain with an example. Everybody can make a caffeinated soda. But for a new competitor, beating the…
How To Beat Bigger Competitors: Blitzkrieg
The German army shocked the world when they entered Paris in 1940. On paper, the French army was ready before the invasion. They expected an attack. So they bolstered their defenses for years. They even built the “impregnable” Maginot line, a 280-mile-long fortification. But the Germans defeated the French army in only 6 weeks. How was it possible?…
Mimetic Desires: Why We Copy Others (And Why It Matters)
Paul Graham wrote about cities and ambition 14 years ago. Each great city has a message. New York tells you to have more money. Silicon Valley whispers to you to get more power. Los Angeles shouts at you to become more famous. Other cities tell you to be smarter, become an insider, or have a better quality of life. And this message…
The Iceberg Model: Solve Business Problems The Right Way
What Is the Iceberg Model? Most people react to problems. They see the apparent reason and look for quick fixes. But in complex systems —like a business— problems usually have deep root causes. Like what? Like the processes, structure, or people’s beliefs. Not fixing these reasons causes issues to occur again and again. And turn…
A Dinner With Elon Musk And The Power of Power Laws
Imagine a friend inviting you to dinner. He texts you: “I’m organizing a dinner with 8 people and the average net worth of attendees is $22 billion.” What would you think? Besides wondering when your friend met that many rich people, you’d expect to be the least wealthy among invitees. But you arrive at dinner and…
RICE Scores: A Simple Method For Project Prioritization
“This is done, what’s next?” That’s what you ask yourself after finishing a project. It seems trivial, but it’s the most important question that defines your results over the long term. Why? Well, most people believe productivity is doing a lot. But that’s an illusion. Real productivity comes from doing the work that brings you the best results. So it’s…
Ikigai For Business: The Hedgehog Concept
What Is Ikigai and How Is It Related to Business? You’ve probably heard of Ikigai. It became popular thanks to the book with the same name. Ikigai means “a reason for being” in Japanese. And as a concept, it’s finding your sense of purpose in the intersection of: In Good to Great, Jim Collins has…