James Ashford, founder of GoProposal, a SaaS proposal service for accounting firms, told a story about the long-running rivalry between the Chinese and U.S. table tennis teams. Tired of losing, the American coach finally asked: “What are we doing wrong?”. To which the Chinese coach replied, “One thing. You keep trying strengthening your weaknesses. And we just strengthening our strengths”. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it’s an important point. After all, in both business and sports, the topic of “What to focus on?” is often hotly debated.
I support betting on “strength,” that is, a gift, a predisposition, an aptitude. Why? The return on the effort invested is greatest. We tend to like what we do well and vice versa. It’s a spiral that leads upward to Olympus. Whereas the development of traits for which there is no natural inclination, although possible, requires a titanic effort. It’s like training a border collie or a wolf - the former catches the movement of your eyebrow, and giving commands to the latter is like talking to a brick wall.
That’s why, for example, judo has a special term Tokui-waza, which means signature move. Once he notices a technique that comes out organically and easily, the athlete can then grow that acorn into a powerful oak tree. As a result, opponents, even if they know the athlete’s technique, can’t do anything about it. If the gift is an uncut diamond, then Tokui-waza is a Koh-i-Noor diamond.
However, one should not forget about weaknesses at all. They must be strengthened, but only to the “hygienic” level specific to each industry.
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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As a business therapist, I help tech founders radically increase the value of their companies by accelerating key decisions at the intersection of business and personality.