Experience is a brutal but effective teacher. The worst lessons in business and life aren’t found in books or case studies—they come from screwing up, facing the fallout, and figuring out how to do better. These rules weren’t crafted in a boardroom or through theory; they were earned through trial, error, and painful missteps.
Stop treating change as something special—it is the business. Digitalization accelerates shifts in customer and supplier behavior, and only adaptable businesses survive. Strategy is overrated; purpose and adaptability win. Change must be embedded in daily operations, not managed as an external project.
A decision is either a clear yes with real-world testing or a definitive no. Endless business cases and spreadsheet justifications waste time. The only way to know if something works is to try, fail, and iterate. Organizations that obsess over perfecting plans instead of executing end up making decisions based on fiction, not reality.
Industry norms and internal policies kill innovation. The most disruptive ideas often come from unheard employees and ignored customers. Instead of silencing dissent, empower critics to prove better solutions. True breakthroughs happen when businesses challenge everything—including their own assumptions. Failure is not a setback—it’s the only path to real change.
Speed forces clarity. Set deadlines first, then adjust scope dynamically. The sooner you launch, the faster you get real feedback. Perfection delays progress. If something is missing, iterate after launch. Execution beats endless preparation—the market will tell you what actually matters.
Time is finite, yet most businesses waste it on low performers, bad clients, and unnecessary complexity. Protect time like money—invest it only in what truly matters. Trust should be default, not earned. Distrust creates toxic, slow-moving environments. Give trust freely, and cut off those who abuse it.
Trust by Default, Else Through Action
Avoid high achievers who have never failed. The Ivy League overachiever, the perfect student, the star athlete—those who have never stumbled often struggle to cope when real adversity hits. When failure comes, they burn out, spiral into self-doubt, or refuse to admit defeat. The best leaders aren’t the ones with perfect track records—they’re the ones who have been broken, rebuilt, and kept going.