Your Next Five Moves

Introduction

What’s in it for me? Learn to think like a chess grandmaster and achieve your goals.

Imagine playing a high-stakes game of chess, but instead of sleek pieces on a checkered board, you’re playing with the future of your professional and personal life. Every move you make could be the difference between seizing an opportunity or missing it, between propelling your success or falling behind, between a life well lived or a life barely lived at all.  As in chess, winning in the professional and personal arenas requires more than just reacting to the present; it demands foresight and the wisdom to make decisions that align with your overarching vision. It’s about understanding not only what to do next but why it matters and how it fits into the bigger picture.  In this Blink, you’ll be introduced to five key strategies that will elevate your overall thinking and decision-making. You’ll begin by exploring the importance of self-reflection, laying the groundwork for understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Next, you’ll learn the art of decision-making, discovering how to make choices that foster your long-term vision. Then, you’ll delve into the power of trust and how to create a cohesive team that amplifies your impact. Following that, you’ll be taught the skill of anticipation, helping you stay ahead of the curve and your competition. Finally, you’ll gain valuable insight into negotiation, enabling you to secure the best possible outcomes in any scenario.  By the end of this Blink, you’ll be equipped with the principles and practices to think several moves ahead, ensuring that every step you take leads you closer to your goals, prepares you to overcome obstacles with ease and poise, and crowns you a grandmaster in this multi-dimensional game called life.   Ready to make the first move? Then, let’s get started! 

Chapter 1 of 5

Your first move: Reflect

Choosing the right path in life, professionally or personally, boils down to stacking the odds of success in your favor. Success isn’t necessarily about how objectively good you are at something, but how well you can leverage your strengths relative to your competitors. Understanding this requires deep self-awareness and a clear-eyed assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. This self-reflection is the first – and perhaps most critical – move you need to make on your journey toward success. To start, let’s apply this concept to the professional arena. In recent years, entrepreneurship has been glorified and held up as the career to aspire to. Social media is flooded with images of CEOs flaunting their luxurious lifestyles – designer wardrobes, private yachts or jets, and celebrity connections. It’s easy to be enticed by the glitz and glamor, especially when these individuals are posting to their Instagram or TikTok from the Bahamas or Maldives while you’re stuck in a stuffy office. However, it’s important to remember that social media often only captures the highlights, rarely the bloopers or outtakes. While it’s true that the entrepreneurial path can bring massive rewards, it also comes with massive risks. Massive risks, enormous demands, significant sacrifices, and near-daily headaches, to be precise. If your reasons for pursuing entrepreneurship are limited to the pursuit of a fancy wardrobe, yacht, and connections, you’re setting yourself up to lose. There are simply too many others playing the entrepreneurial game because they genuinely intend to change the world, and you’ll be outplayed every round. So, after carefully assessing your strengths, weaknesses, and “why,” you might realize that entrepreneurship isn’t the best fit for you – and that’s perfectly okay. There are countless other paths to a fulfilling and successful life. One alternative to consider is becoming an “intrapreneur.” Intrapreneurs remain within a company but work to become indispensable, driving innovation and growth from within the organization. A successful intrapreneur thinks, acts, and innovates like a CEO but without the associated risks and pressures of the official title. In doing so, intrapreneurs soon stand out to their managers, upper management, and even the CEO, earning the recognition, compensation, and opportunities they might have sought as entrepreneurs, but without the major downsides.  Therefore, your first move – investing time and energy in honest self-reflection – is crucial. It’s time to carefully consider your strengths, weaknesses, and motivations and plan your next move based on this intel, not the idealized images and videos that saturate modern media. Your future self will thank you for it.

Chapter 2 of 5

Your second move: Decide

Once you’ve chosen a game where the odds are stacked in your favor, your next move is to start making decisions. Unfortunately, as you become more successful at your chosen game, these decisions will multiply in number and grow in gravity. Those who consistently come out ahead are the ones who develop a robust system for problem-solving and decision-making.  Don’t worry, this system doesn’t need to be complex. In fact, you only need to identify the root cause of any problem and then find an appropriate solution for that root cause. So, if you’re not satisfied with the level of success you’ve achieved in business or life, your current system for making decisions is likely in need of some improvement – assuming you have one at all.  The first element is pinpointing the root cause of the issue at hand. It’s not enough to recognize that you’ve lost the spark in your marriage, for example, you need to dig deeper. This is where asking “Why?” becomes invaluable. But don’t stop after asking just once – keep asking “Why?” until you can no longer answer with a new response. In this context, the repeated “Why?” process might lead you to realize that you and your spouse haven’t revised your list of shared values in the 20 years you’ve been together, resulting in a natural misalignment over time.  The second element of an effective problem-solving system is finding the right solution, which typically involves either playing offense or defense. In the marriage example, you might decide that an offensive strategy is best, perhaps scheduling a weekend away to update your list of shared values. Alternatively, you might favor a defensive strategy, and spend a night in with your partner to unpack how and why you’ve strayed from your initial list.   This problem-solving and decision-making framework may sound reductive, but that’s precisely its strength. By clearly defining the root cause of your problem and determining whether an offensive or defensive approach is needed, you immediately make the problem seem less overwhelming. It’s a truism that by labeling something, you lessen its hold on you.  When challenges arise, as they inevitably will in business and life, it’s easy to stay at the surface level, blame others, or ignore the issue entirely. But those who ultimately manifest their vision of success focus on identifying and addressing the root cause, because they understand that the root cause also holds the seed for their progress and growth. 

Chapter 3 of 5

Your third move: Trust

You’ve now identified the game that best plays to your strengths and have started processing problems as they arise. The next deciding factor in your success is the speed at which you move.  You’ve likely heard the saying that time is money. The velocity at which you act will determine how far you’ll go. But speed isn’t just about efficiency; it’s also about trust. The more trust between people, the less time required at each turn.  Trust, however, is a nuanced concept. Just because you trust someone with one aspect of your business doesn’t mean you trust them with everything. For example, you might trust a colleague to handle human resources matters, but not with the sensitive financial files managed by your accountant. This is where contracts become invaluable tools to safeguard your interests. While some pride themselves on operating without contracts, believing their honesty and good intentions will be reciprocated, this approach can be problematic. Without proper documentation, these individuals leave themselves vulnerable to misunderstandings or breaches of trust that could have been avoided. In the professional arena, this means having comprehensive contracts in place for every business change, deal, and hire. Key elements such as a code of conduct, probationary periods, finite terms, indemnification, and liability caps should be clearly outlined.  Yet, contracts alone aren’t enough; they must be matched with genuine care. After all, we’re dealing with humans, and humans trust those who care about them. Showing care is what transforms someone from a stranger to a trusted partner or even a “running mate” – an indispensable right-hand person. Demonstrating care needn’t be extravagant. Simply taking a moment here and there to get to know those around you on a deeper level can go a long way. You can start with surface-level information but aim to uncover what really drives those around you. Knowing your colleague’s penchant for limited edition sneakers is nice, but learning that they value integrity above all else is where the gold lies. Equally, be prepared to share your own likes and motivations. Trust is a two-way street, and it’s through mutual understanding and recognition that long-lasting relationships are built.  As you become more successful, the number of people you can truly trust may dwindle, but that’s okay. A rich and fulfilling life doesn’t demand you to trust everyone you meet. Success only requires trust between you and those closest to you, allowing you to progress and grow together at speed. 

Chapter 4 of 5

Your fourth move: Anticipate

At this stage, you’re three moves ahead of the pack and likely starting to see tangible results. But this is no time to ease up. To keep your momentum rolling, it’s crucial to stay vigilant and keep pushing forward with move number four.  Those who achieve lasting success never let their guard down. They avoid the trap of comfort and complacency, operating instead with a heightened sense of awareness – some might even say a perpetual paranoia – anticipating every possible twist and turn. To invoke an adage from the US Army, “stay alert; stay alive.”  In today’s hyper-connected world, this level of alertness is more critical than ever. Even the largest, most established companies and organizations are vulnerable to sudden shifts in trends and unexpected disruptions.  As with moves two and three, you become more susceptible as you become more successful. Buying into your own hype can be the quickest route to complacency and subsequent downfall. You can bet there’s a queue of others eager to take your place at the top.  If you’ve already started identifying those you can trust and deepened your relationships with key individuals, you’re already on your way to safeguarding yourself against getting too comfortable. These trusted confidants can help keep your ego in check and provide wise counsel when you need it most. But you can double down with three additional strategies to further protect yourself from the dangers of complacency.  First, familiarize yourself with Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. While it’s important to hope for the best, it’s equally crucial to plan for the worst. Second, keep an eye open for the sunk-cost fallacy. Sometimes, a small, recoverable loss is necessary to avoid a larger, irreparable disaster. To borrow another military maxim: “Lose the battle to win the war.” Third, always be thinking ahead. If you follow the framework outlined in this Blink, you’ll be five moves ahead of the competition. But this isn’t a one-and-done effort; you must continually stay at least three moves ahead to maintain your edge.  Both business and life are inherently complex and chaotic. If you’re truly committed to manifesting your vision of success, don’t bury your head in the sand and pretend everything is under control. Instead, make anticipation a central and consistent part of your strategy. A little pain now can save a lot of pain later. 

Chapter 5 of 5

Your fifth move: Negotiate

These first four moves will have you well on your way – you’ll be operating in a favorable game, supported by a trusted team, making effective decisions, and accurately anticipating challenges. The final move you must master on your journey to success is the power play of negotiation.  In both business and life, you often have to give in order to get. In business, this might involve providing value before receiving it in return. In life, it could mean offering love or trust before it’s extended to you.  The key to effective negotiation lies in a transference of feeling, not just information. You’ll be most persuasive when you genuinely believe in what you’re “selling.” And don’t forget that “selling” applies just as much to convincing your spouse to move cities or getting your children to eat their vegetables as it does in an official sales role. When you approach “selling,” “negotiating,” and “influencing” from a place of authenticity, conviction, and perhaps even a commitment to service, these activities can shift from making you feel uneasy to making you feel excited. Of course, this means you should be confident in your ability to deliver on what you’re offering, but if you’ve followed the framework outlined in this Blink so far, you should have built a solid track record that reinforces your credibility. A powerful strategy in negotiation is to frame the situation so that the other party also feels like they’ve won – the ultimate win-win outcome. This requires setting aside your ego momentarily, but the payoff is well worth it. One compelling approach is to ask open questions instead of presenting direct recommendations. For instance, asking your spouse, “I wonder why quality of life scores are higher in Vermont than here?” might lead them to own and embrace the idea of relocating rather than simply stating, “I think we should leave New York.” Negotiation is another instance where the military maxim “Lose the battle, win the war” applies. Sometimes, it’s worth sacrificing a small deal or decision first to secure a much larger victory – or series of victories – later.  Remember, the underlying strategy is to think like an expert chess player, always five steps ahead. This perspective is what sets grandmasters apart and is the same approach that will drive your own professional and personal success. 

Conclusion

Final summary

In this Blink to Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David, you’ve learned that much like a master chess player, success in business and life depends on your ability to think and stay several steps ahead of the pack.  By engaging in self-reflection, honing your decision-making skills, building a trusting team, and mastering the art of anticipation and negotiation, you can position yourself to effortlessly outmaneuver competitors and manifest your vision of success.  Both the professional and personal arenas come with their inevitable challenges, disappointments, and setbacks, but adopting the “next five moves” approach will equip you to overcome these obstacles with ease and poise. In doing so, you’ll become one of the rare few able to progress and grow regardless of circumstance – a grandmaster in the complex and chaotic game of life.  Okay, that’s it for this Blink. We hope you enjoyed it. If you can, please take the time to leave us a rating – we always appreciate your feedback. See you in the next Blink! 
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