Also known as Tactical Dispositions, theres a pervasive theme of patience throughout. Again, like in previous chapters, Sun Tzu speaks of the virtues of anticipation and perception, of knowing the path to victory even before making the first move.
The most pertinent quote of this chapter:
[The commander] wins his battles by making no mistakes.
This may be difficult to adapt for the startup world, but there is indeed some relevance to it. In the Lean Startup model, making mistakes is often unavoidable and much can be gained from trial and error. Many entrepreneurial communities champion failure as a rite of passage only when youve hit rock bottom are you free to do anything.
Im going to meet these two ideologies somewhere in between.
Do your homework before you take the deep dive.Many startups fail because they emphasize too much of the Build phase of the Lean Startup Cycle and not enough of the Measure and Learn phases. Before going full-time in your company or seeking out financial investment, an entrepreneur is expected to already know the path of victory in advance.
In my view, having precise methods of Measuring and Learning before building anything a product, a service, an incorporated legal structure, etc. creates a huge advantage for the entrepreneur and saves valuable time and money in these critical early phases.
Dont repeat the mistakes of past failed entrepreneurs thats insane.Most entrepreneurs begin their modeling by looking at whats readily available, most of which are unicorn examples that happened almost entirely by accident.
Certain monetizing strategies might make sense according to the aggregate behaviors of the customer. Without any solid evidence that people are A) willing to pay anything for what you do and B) are going to pay exactly in the way that you expect them to pay, you risk making a mistake that could alienate them from engaging with you altogether.
Startups will also waste a lot of time on things that, at an early stage, do not matter. Generally this includes social media and swag purchases as obvious examples, but it also includes hiring expensive, talented people to build something that youre not entirely sure people want. Without a clear, validated vision, your efforts could be entirely wasted here.
Next Chapter: Forces
Lee
