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Start the Battle After Creating Victory Conditions
Leadership / Advice
Preparation is what separates success from luck.
The Idea
From Sun Tzu: Victorious warriors win first and then go to war. Defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
Applied to leadership: don't launch projects, initiatives, or changes until you've set up the conditions for success.
What Conditions Look Like
- The right people are in place.
- Resources are allocated.
- Stakeholders are aligned.
- Risks are identified and mitigated.
- The team understands the goal and believes in it.
In Practice
- Don't start a migration without a rollback plan.
- Don't announce a reorg without talking to key people first.
- Don't launch a new product without understanding user needs.
- Don't start hiring without knowing what roles you need.
The Discipline
The urge to act is strong. But spending an extra week preparing can save months of firefighting.
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