The Art of Boiling / June 11, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

As soon as water starts boiling, it doesn't get any hotter.

Further heating simply turns the liquid into vapor.

So once you reach the boiling point, you're wasting energy.

In any endeavor, it's important to know when a phase transition occurs.

At this point, the system parameters change in leaps and bounds.

Sometimes, this fact is hard for a mind seeking linearity in everything to grasp.

Novice: "If I work out three times a day, I'll become stronger."

Coach: "Not at all. Progress will plateau, and injuries will occur."

Some companies continue to invest in an already expanded bottleneck.

But if the sales process is feeble, why pump up lead generation?

Cutting costs won't help if the product has lost its appeal.

Debt shouldn't be sought until the business model is polished.

Knowing "boiling points" ensures a high return on capital.

Founders' principle: "Good enough. But not less."

One could say that entrepreneurship is the art of moderation.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Beyond the Obvious / June 10, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

When the downpour has already begun, there is no point in running.

Because of your speed, you will collect raindrops faster.

However, the risk of slipping and sprawling in a puddle will be much higher.

The time to hurry was earlier, when it seemed, "Could there be a storm?"

Now you can relax and walk around quietly and casually.

Firstly, you stand out advantageously from the bewildered crowd.

Secondly, discomfort subsides when willingly embraced.

Thirdly, you can ponder slowly why this happened.

After all, intuition was right, but you habitually discounted its signal.

Yes, the signs were vague, and yes, the forecast didn't promise rain.

As usual, the mind demanded clear forms and solid evidence.

Well, it got everything, soaked clothes won't let it lie.

Writers, hunters, and entrepreneurs trust their gut.

They know the secret — everything explicit was once implicit.

For them, potential is as real as any physical object.

That's why they react when there seems to be nothing to everyone else.

So what distinguishes a founder from a manager? Trusting the gut.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Curse of Pride in Business / June 9, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Many religions agree that pride is the source of all sins.

In business, such terms aren't popular, but the essence remains the same.

A person is convinced that the world revolves solely around him (or her).

Everything and everyone around either threatens or contributes to self-elevation.

As a result, we witness the phenomenon of local optimization.

Company resources are mis-spent, mis-allocated and mis-directed.

The CMO forms alliances and hatches plans to defeat the CFO.

The CEO squanders shareholders' profits on ideological initiatives.

While co-founders bicker, their market share is devoured by the competition.

Business withers when local needs overshadow global goals.

Through pride, a person destroys both his surroundings and eventually himself.

The remedy for pride is humility (not to be confused with self-deprecation).

It's a sincere recognition that there is something greater above you.

A smart manager asks the boss to explain the purpose of an order: "Why?".

Instead of trying to push a product, a salesperson clarifies the customer's needs.

Taking care of the business, a mature founder creates a board of directors.

Personal interests are not in conflict, but are part of a global context.

By "forgetting" oneself, a person attains true security.

Besides, now he is in sync with the system's superpower. A paradox.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Art of Manoeuvring / June 8, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

How much is the ability to accelerate quickly worth without the ability to brake? Not much, because effective speed equals zero if you crash at the first traffic light.

Yet that's exactly what happens when the market grows steadily for a long time. A whole array of founders and CEOs emerge, having learned only one thing—pressing the gas pedal to the floor.

When it comes to cooling down the market, neither they nor their businesses are prepared. Adjusting the business model, restructuring debt, reducing burn rate—these and other lifesaving actions are not their forte or are decided upon too late.

An experienced biker knows that braking requires a special skill that needs separate training. If you squeeze the rear brake too hard, the motorcycle will skid, and if you hit the front brake, you'll flip over the handlebars headfirst.

Ignorance of the potential of brakes leads to a situation where, when faced with an obstacle, the biker panics, lays the motorcycle on its side, and ends up hitting exactly what they were trying to avoid due to sliding.

However, true mastery is demonstrated when it's necessary to perform a very complex maneuver that requires simultaneous play on all "keys"—gas, brake, and clutch. In motorsport, there is a discipline called gymkhana—a competition for maneuvering through a course with numerous cones at the highest speed. The business equivalent is a prolonged period of high uncertainty when companies can neither move straightforwardly nor come to a stop — it requires non-stop maneuvering.

A company, like a motorcycle in gymkhana, must be "in full stretch," when the leader manages the clash of opposing forces in a way that maintains system stability, deftly navigates dangers, and accelerates when opportunities arise.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Deeptrue vs Deepfake / June 7, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

In the past, people suffered from numerous hardships, dangers, and illnesses. But they didn't have a more terrifying problem than what we have. Their existence was 100% real, while our lives are relentlessly consumed by fake.

Pseudofacts, voice clones, rewriting of history, concept substitution, and so on. Soon only AI will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff, but who will trust its verdict?

No wonder the use of antidepressants in the United States has quadrupled since 1988. When everything around becomes conditional, the collapse inside a person grows.

I realize that this trend cannot be stopped and it will only continue to escalate. But that's the external world; order in our minds can and should be maintained.

Personally, sports give me hope—jiu-jitsu, walking, and kettlebells. Physical activity cannot be distorted, and it cannot be denied.

Swinging a mace centers the mind better than any antidepressant. Gravity always exerts its influence during a jiu-jitsu scramble. If the news makes your head spin, stand under an icy shower.

Any activity becomes medicine when the consciousness receives direct feedback from the world, without artificial algorithms.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Power of Adaptability / June 6, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Give people infinite time, and they'll adapt to anything.

The mind is so flexible that it can eventually digest almost any shock.

But fate throws a challenge and growls, "Change now!"

Thus, the problem lies only in the speed of our transformations.

For some, adaptation will take an hour, while for others, a decade. Why?

Well, some people are more open to novelty based on their psychological type.

Their curiosity overrides paralyzing anxiety.

The question is, what about the rest of us?

Weak adaptability can be compared to an atrophied muscle.

What matters is not its initial strength, but the fact that it exists at all.

Provide a rhythm of exertion and rest, and the volume of muscle fibers will increase.

Creating a rhythm of exertion and rest will increase the volume of muscle fibers.

However, the load must be manageable, and the rest must be complete.

By the way, that's exactly how exposure therapy works for treating severe anxiety disorders (phobias, PTSD, OCD, etc.).

The advantage is that flexibility in one area melts rigidity in others.

Consciously accelerating adaptability is also a form of superpower, isn't it?

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Embracing Paradox / June 5, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Business is like a bulldog — if it wheezes and snores, it means it's alive.

Worry only when it suddenly becomes too quiet.

Existence implies dynamics, drama, upheaval, and discomfort.

Conversely, an inanimate object is immediately recognizable by its fixed form.

Just like shed snake skin remains static, a fallen leaf doesn't grow.

In other words, life is not a structure but a function or process.

The process is driven by a contradiction that cannot be definitively resolved.

Polarities not only exist; they are intimately intertwined.

Order and chaos, individuality and society, stability and growth, and so on.

A tilt in any direction inevitably triggers a swing back.

So relying on extremes is utopian and characteristic of novices or fanatics.

So, the mature leader doesn't shy away from contradictions but seeks them out.

A leader understands that the secret to a thriving business lies in paradox.

Creative acts take place at the intersection of contradictions.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Who is the Author of Your Game? / June 4, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Do you have competitors?

If the answer is "yes," then you're a participant in someone else's game.

Therefore, your success depends on the whims of the author.

The one who wrote the rules can change them at any moment.

For example, one day Amazon or LinkedIn may block your account.

But the most important thing is that every game is based on conflict and drama.

Victory and defeat imply a struggle for a limited resource introduced artificially by the author.

Attempting to challenge the limit threatens the existence of the game, and the "rebel" will be harshly punished by the system.

Does this mean that you should give up any game?

Not at all, because engaging in gameplay undoubtedly develops us.

But in addition to the role of a participant, it makes sense to become the author yourself.

By that, I mean creating a new game where the plot unfolds within you, rather than externally.

Here, the protagonist and antagonist are aspects of one's personality.

The rules are designed so that you wake up wanting to play again every morning.

You don't have competitors because your goals, path, and means are unique.

But what about limitations? They certainly exist; otherwise, there won't be any intensity.

As for the prize pool, there is no limit in your game at all.

Everything that holds you back at any given moment is solely you.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Art of Hearing / June 3, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

To truly hear a person, I must forget about myself.

Otherwise, I'll be waiting for a convenient moment to say something of my own.

Most of the communication between people is not a dialogue but a monologue.

People look each other in the face, but everyone speaks about themselves and with themselves.

I realized this when I was studying the psychotherapeutic method called "Focusing."

That's when I felt the difference between being listened to and being heard.

It turns out, it's a special skill that's not so easy to develop.

Why? You need to set aside your beloved ego, at least for a while.

Over the course of several years, I've learned this, and now during business therapy sessions, I'm present but absent—I'm only the client.

Entrepreneurs note in their reviews: "Alexander possesses the rare patience to listen and the ability to hear," "I appreciate his calmness, sincerity, and listening skills," "Alexander has a unique skill—he listens."

This aspect may not seem crucial to anyone from the outside.

But I know that the root cause of the problem cannot be found otherwise.

"Never attempt to cure what you don't understand," they say in Poland.

The paradox is that you need to be heard by others in order to truly understand yourself.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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On the Path to Breakthrough / June 2, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Why is it difficult to make a breakthrough in business or career?

People cannot endure the phase of creative destruction, that is, chaos.

The path to the Garden of Eden lies through hell, symbolically or literally.

It requires willingly diving into frightening uncertainty.

In learning a new skill, it means being a "fool" for a while.

In discovering new lands, it means accepting the chance of getting lost.

In innovation, it means enduring frustration until the "Aha!"

Here, it is impossible to avoid discomfort, boredom, pain, or anxiety.

It's important to understand the meaning of the process and value each phase.

Additionally, the skill of navigating through chaos is necessary, whether you possess it or your guide does.

Also, either you or your guide should be proficient to navigate through chaos.

Finally, you need to have an answer to the question: "What do you want it for?

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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”Who are you and what do you do?"
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Focus in the whirlpool of opportunities / June 1, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Sometimes the problem is not lack of opportunity, but abundance.

"There are plenty of projects and stress, but no dividends, excitement, or personal space," confesses the entrepreneur. Drought is harmful, but continuous rains are dangerous too. In the whirlpool of tasks, it's easy to drown, wasting energy in vain. And what about business? It reflects the founder's state of being since employees generate a lot of activity, yet in the end, it all turns out to be a fizzle.

The situation resembles scattered beautiful Christmas ornaments everywhere. This magnificence requires a support rod, but the tree isn't there yet. My task is to help the founder find this rod.

The solution is not simply to declare, "You need focus." It is crucial to understand what specific barriers prevent the individual from achieving it. Typically, it is an unconscious false belief. Once the misconception loses its power, the hierarchy of goals and values immediately becomes clear. The founder says, "Ah, I see, my strategic priorities are X, Y, and Z."

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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”Who are you and what do you do?"
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The Strategy Session Dilemma / May 31, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Marlon Brando on the set of Julius Caesar, 1953

Should you have a strategy session with your team or not?

Many founders and CEOs secretly struggle with this dilemma.

A session is necessary because all parts of the company are clearly out of sync. But judging from past experience, a session is unlikely to be beneficial.

In the end, compromise wins—the pseudo-session at a modest price, without the involvement of the leader, and with entertainment for the team.

The mistaken belief is that the group's problem should be solved within the group.

We need to go back to a moment in the past when there were no employees yet, but the company already existed.

The founder had a vision of what kind of business could be built when the market opportunity forcefully called out, "Take the plunge, it's worth it!"

The future leader had to establish a hierarchy of goals and values within himself because there were many ideas, few resources, and time working against him (her).

Without clarity in mind, the entrepreneur wouldn't have been able to sign the first client, entice a talented employee, negotiate with partners, or raise capital.

In other words, synchronization begins in a single mind.

And only then, in the case of success, does it scale to everyone.

That's why in 99 out of 100 cases, I work with founders one-on-one.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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The Evil of Good Intentions / May 30, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

My greatest fear is of naive people with good intentions.

Over millions of years, all primates have developed a sense of smell for malicious intent. However, benevolence overcomes defensive barriers like the Ebola virus.

The infernal blend of empathy and hysteria disorients even the most rational individuals. And the inexperienced are drawn en masse to the promise of virtue, like salmon to spawn.

Their movement resembles a crusade, a sectarian trance, or a witch hunt. The same ecstasy from moral righteousness and readiness to apply force to heretics.

In the event of a successful revolution, cynical scoundrels devour naive fanatics from within. Unfortunately, the scale of this utopia only becomes clear when cities turn to ruins. All social experiments have had a bloody finale—USSR, Cambodia, China, etc.

But what is most striking is that the repetition of tragedy teaches the 'good' people nothing. Without batting an eye, they declare, "The mistake was in the execution, not the idea itself."

Blatant evil is horrifying, but at least it can be noticed and successfully confronted.

More terrifying is the idea of universal harmony, equality, and happiness, gleaming in bulging eyes.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Problems, Tasks, and Dilemmas / May 29, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Cartoon showing William Ewart Gladstone in a dilemma, 1886

In business, it's important to distinguish between problems, tasks, and dilemmas.

A terrible initial state A and a desirable final state B are there for all.

Unlike a task, in a problem, the path to achieving B is unknown.

People usually describe a problem as 'I know what, but I don't know how.'

A dilemma is a choice between two equally unacceptable options.

You can easily recognize a dilemma by its sharp horns:

"On one hand, there's X, but on the other hand, there's anti-X. What should I do?"

More often than not, the way out of a dilemma is paradoxical, i.e. it defies logic.

At least that's how it seems to the "rational" mind hanging on the horns.

The mind cannot transcend its own logical constructs.

Thus the human psyche needs a strong impulse to make a breakthrough.

A shock event, personal crisis, or a specialist can help.

A founder later exclaims, "It's so obvious! How could I not notice this?"

The bonus is that the worldview gets upgraded to version 2.0.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Hidden Arsenal / May 28, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

I can't help but think that we've already got everything we need.

No, I'm not talking about accepting a sorry state of affairs.

It's clear that we deserve, desire, and can achieve more.

I'm referring to the resources available to us on this path.

Often, we complain about an excess of barriers and a shortage of means.

In a dead-end, we feel like our reserves are depleted while threats are boundless.

But every medicine becomes poisoned when overdosed.

Water is a source of joy, yet it claims the lives of 320,000 people worldwide yearly.

We hardly befriended dogs before they were domesticated 15,000 years ago.

Every phenomenon is initially harmful until understood by humans.

It is only afterward that it becomes useful or neutral.

As self-defense expert Rory Miller says, "The difference between danger and a tool is who first uses it."

Whether something is good or evil to us is a question of perspective.

The necessary tool is right at our fingertips; we just don't see it yet.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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”Who are you and what do you do?"
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Why people can't agree? / May 27, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Why is it so difficult for people to agree with each other?

You'll be surprised if you read until the end.

One suspects everyone of having evil intentions.

The other feels trapped by imposed impossible conditions.

The third considers the potential partner a fool.

Like, he just doesn't seem to grasp his obvious advantage.

Promising partnerships fail to materialize or suddenly fall apart.

In reality, the reason often lies elsewhere.

People can't come to an agreement because they don't know themselves.

Externally, we all look similar, but inside each of us has our own inner drama club.

Psychotype, parents, and a chain of early events shape our lives.

The inner conflict goes unnoticed, and therefore, unacknowledged.

The drama is projected from within onto objects and people.

A similar script is replayed with everyone, always and everywhere.

This goes on endlessly until one gets tired to death.

The weary gaze finally turns inward in search of insight.

Knowing what drives a person grants the choice of how to act.

Once you reconcile with yourself, reaching agreements with others becomes easy.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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Who Supports All of This? / May 26, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

It's a mistake to think of peace as society's natural state.

Prosperity is possible only when there are no reasons to fear.

Spontaneously, order never arises in business.

Why? Forces of chaos relentlessly strive to destroy everything.

The city gets mired in riots, the body weakens, the garden turns into a wild wood.

The only one preventing a collapse is the proactive creator.

A vigilant watch ensures border security.

Muscle functionality is maintained by a training rhythm.

The founder adapts a model, which is then scaled by everyone.

In short, someone must relentlessly fight to sustain life.

If comfort lasts too long, the creator's contribution tends to be forgotten.

Until the cozy order of things goes out of whack.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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”Who are you and what do you do?"
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The Paradox of Building Systems / May 25, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

Building a system is always non-systemic (at the beginning).

Most managers find it difficult to understand and accept this fact.

To create a new order, one must first dive into chaos.

You need to search for the cat in a dark room, risking that it may not be there.

All activity will seem ineffective, empty, and foolish.

It is a true torture for a conscientious and responsible man.

Essentially, creating a system from scratch is a leap of faith.

The creator believes: Sooner or later he will make something out of nothing.

He relies not so much on special skills as on values.

The trials are bearable because the creator has a meaning that redeems them.

Now we can formulate the difference between a founder and a manager.

They have different answers to the question: "What for?"

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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”Who are you and what do you do?"
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Reluctant Leadership / May 24, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

I didn't want to be CEO.

Yet, I reluctantly agreed at the request of the shareholders.

Becoming a co-founder of a group of companies hadn't crossed my mind. Fate, however, presented an opportunity, and I begrudgingly accepted.

A similar scenario unfolded later when an acquaintance investor dazzled me with a proposition: to create and manage a $50 million investment fund. It took time to convince me, but eventually, I acquiesced.

It's believed that great achievements require insatiable ambitions. However, my unusual career illustrates that unique opportunities come to us if we put our heart and soul into what we do.

Why? Because we create exceptional value for others only when we forget ourselves. Passionate resolution of others' problems yields rapid learning and exponential growth. It's only a matter of time before Mr. Market notices our progress and rewards us.

First, function matures; then, form gradually follows suit.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

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”Who are you and what do you do?"
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The Real Business Bottleneck / May 23, 2023 by Alexander Lyadov

In engineering, a bottleneck is a phenomenon where one component significantly limits the performance of the entire system.

This means that investing anywhere other than the bottleneck is a waste of resources. Neither a trendy label, nor a technologically advanced cap, nor an ergonomic cup can increase the flow of liquid from the bottle. On the contrary, even the slightest widening of the bottleneck immediately improves the desired result.

So why do many companies act as if they have not one, but dozens of bottlenecks, which is impossible by definition?

Local optimization occurs when a subsystem, such as the marketing or procurement department, considers its own goal to be the most important. This leads to a struggle between subsystems, resulting in a more toxic corporate culture, a less agile company, an unhappy team, and poorer investors.

But don't rush to accuse people of greed and egocentrism. Local optimization often arises due to a lack of global meaning. Someone failed to convey it to everyone in time. It is clear that the primary source of meaning is the company founder. When founders fulfill their function, if you wake any employee up in the middle of the night, they will blurt out, "Our bottleneck is right here!"

So why don't entrepreneurs give their employees an answer to this fundamental question? Attempts to understand this inevitably lead to the conclusion that the bottleneck of the company is the founders themselves.

Yours sincerely,

-Alexander

You can help Ukraine defend itself and the World from Russian aggression here.

”Who are you and what do you do?"
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