In Chinese kung-fu, they have a saying:
"Gut first; Power second; Kung-fu third."
What it means is that to become a successful kung-fu artist, the most important thing is your gut, not your techniques:
If a person is a coward without courage, no matter how good their techniques are, the person will be useless in actual combat.
If a person has no determination nor drive (i.e., no fire in the belly), the person won't be able to put in the hard work necessary to refine and perfect the techniques. After all, the word kung-fu itself (gong-fu) literally means the result of a hard-work training.
Similarly, you cannot apply your techniques to their most devastating impact if you do not have the raw power. A large person can easily overpower a smaller person unless the skill gap is great. This is why there are 17 weight classes in boxing – to remove the raw power handicap.
Hence, in kung-fu training, there are a lot of exercises designed to increase your raw power, not only exercises to refine your kung-fu techniques. So, if you have a small power, you can strengthen yourself.
Unfortunately, there are no kung-fu exercises that can teach you gut! This is something inside you that only you can develop yourself.
This is why the ancient kung-fu masters, before taking any disciple, test the potential disciple's gut to see the amount of their determination. They use a lot of boring and tedious (but important) basic training to measure and assess the gut-determination of their disciples. Only once a disciple passes the test will they be taught the secret, advanced techniques and become a formal disciple. How does this relate to business or strategy, you ask?
It is the same, I would say.
To become an effective business person, whether you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, a CEO, a business executive, or a strategist, you need these three things:
"Gut first; Talent second; Training third."
Since the most important thing in business is not training, but gut and talent – just like a strong and courageous person can win fights despite never learning martial arts – a driven and talented person can be successful in business despite zero training.
So many people with no MBA training successfully open a new business, climb the corporate ladder, become an effective CEO, or invest in the right companies.
A business degree and on-the-job training help you build your skillset, but how much of those skills you can apply in the real world depends on your courage and talent.
For example, most MBA students are taught financial modelling to value a company. But how many of them really use this skill to find undervalued companies and make a living out of it?
The answer is, as you guessed, not many because training by itself, without the talent and gut, is not effective.
Fortunately, just like there are certain training exercises you can do to increase your raw power in kung-fu, there are also many training exercises to improve your raw talent in business. For example:
If you have a knack for the stock market, then an internship in a top asset management company will improve your forte in this area (assuming you have the gut).
Likewise, if you have a flair for house flipping, then a job placement in a real estate company will help.
Unfortunately, the most important thing to succeed in business is gut, something no one can teach you. Be it:
the gut-courage of the entrepreneurs risking a lot to start a new venture;
the gut-instinct of CEOs when they decide to acquire a new company; or
the gut-drive of a strategy consulting intern to deliver and secure a job offer.
Your gut is something that only you can develop from within. Without gut, talent and training are wasted.
This is why when I try to recruit somebody, the first thing I look for is not their skills but their drive. Only after I have ascertained the fire in their belly I seriously consider the candidates.
I'm not saying that building your skills or undertaking business training is not important. Far from it, you can significantly improve your effectiveness by learning the proper techniques and mastering the skills.
For example, a brawler who learns boxing techniques can become a really dangerous person.
Similarly, a CEO who knows the secrets of winning strategy can become a really effective CEO (for the competitors).
So, don’t neglect skill development.
Then, what is the takeaway from this?
Make sure you take a proactive approach (as no one else can teach you this) to developing your gut, because this is the most important virtue of all. Go deep into yourself to find your gut.
Remember:
“Gut first; Talent second; Training third.”
If you are interested in strategy, check my blog.
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