“The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.” (Niels Bohr)
When something new is good, it doesn’t mean that something old gets bad. The old can still be good. And when something new is bad and the old is bad also, you might need something new new. There’s no right or wrong. Sometimes it’s both, sometimes none.
Back to business: Combine new and old for a best-of-both-worlds approach. Or create entirely new.
“Good and bad luck comes to all; it’s how you plan and execute that determines your return on luck.” (Jim Collins)
Bad luck, creative destruction, or technological upheaval. Shakeouts, burnouts, or rain – screw them. True to the motto life is what you make it, greatness is in the outputs.
Output no. 1: A company’s performance: “Sustained returns on invested capital substantially in excess of other companies in its industry”
Output no. 2: A company’s impact: “People would miss the company if it went away. It could be something unique or different or innovative, or the distinctiveness could be in the execution – you do something so well that you’re irreplaceable.”
Output no. 3: A company’s endurance: “A truly great enterprise has the capacity to last beyond any product cycle, any founder, any individual leader, and still maintain superior performance and distinctive impact.”
Inspiration: The “Definition of a Great Company” by Jim Collins
It’s not sufficient to have read it once, to know it already, to have heard about it. Actively decide to do it again: Always choose to be exposed to thoughts that are constructive, always choose to deal with ideas that are constructive, and always choose to be confronted by challenges that are constructive. Thoughts, ideas, and challenges are forces that form your mind. Beware the forces that form your mind for your mind always remains formable.
Back to business: When it comes to your body, go to the gym (physical exercises). When it comes to your mind, talk to people, read texts, or watch videos (mental exercises). Then go for a walk, for your body and mind.
There are important things to learn here. This is not meant to be a general advocacy for one school of thought, neither inflation nor deflation camp so to say. Rather, the valuable insight goes: Decide for one side; have a logically structured, argumentative story with solid reasoning, so convincing that you not only live and breath it, but be it; understand and internalize it, develop a strategy based on it, and execute accordingly. If you receive negative signals (as Frank did when some of his stocks lost 50% of their value), double check if your theory is still consistent with reality. If yes, sit tight, have patience, and continue (as Frank did when he bought even more). If not, well, change your world view, learn from mistakes, and continue. With a story, a strategy, and execution.