Starting Cube 21 – Means to an End, was inspired by a two hour History Channel special on Sun Tzu’s Art of War and how the lessons play out in three modern battles: Vietnam, Battle of Normandy/D-Day & Gatiesburgh.
First you should start off listening to Cube 21:
[audio:http://www.startingcube.com/cube0021focus-on-the-end-goal.mp3][Download mp3 – 4:48] One-Click Subscriptions for StartingCube: Zune : iTunes : RSS
Now for my reactions:
[audio:http://media.ansp.com/ANT0002on-Cube21-Means-End-Sun-Tzu-Art-War-Biz.mp3]
[MP3 – 14:52]
Business vs War
Business is not War
Businessmen who think of business as war gives business a bad name.
Breaking vs Building
Primary goal of war is to impose your will on a group.
The primary goal of business is to build something, or provide value.
Sun Tzu really pushes the use of deception to win a war.
Deception in a business is a destructive strategy; and is too similar to fraud or oppressive methods for acquiring wealth, not acceptable or good ways of building your dream.
Keep Your Eye on the Prize
It’s important to enjoy the journey, but the journey is not the destination.
Not every moment of building your dream shall be enjoyable, but the overall journey should be.
You have to have both parts, if you lose sight of either:
– journey
– destination
you have lost
The destination might not always be clear to an outsider, that is not a big issue, the goals must be clear and remembered by you.
To help with both elements, keeping written records of what you are striving for and what you have accomplished (or progress) can help.
One Trick Providers
There is power in focus on the part of an individual, but as a group, if everyone brings the same viewpoint & skills, then some people are unneeded.
You have to find additional resources to achieve your goals.
Might be a coach or outside consultant, or it might be a new book, podcast, training course.
Be intentional with what you input into your mind & who you spend time with.
Need an Outside Perspective?
We provide coaching and consulting for individuals and organizations who are striving to solve a public problem with a private solution.
Another place is to post your thoughts in the comments of a Starting Cube episode.