I remember my high-school shop teacher used to always say this.

Someone (yes sometimes me) would do something really dumb in shop and he would emerge from his office shaking his head back and forth in disdain….muttering with some sort of unidentifiable accent….”common sense is very uncommon…”

As time went by I learned that this is true…common sense IS very uncommon.

But more importantly, I learned that ‘common sense’ could be developed with a little effort.

A good good friend and business associate of mine, Steven Feinberg, wrote an amazing book called, “The Advantage-Makers: How Exceptional Leaders Win by Creating Opportunities Others Don’t” (I’m proud to say I’m on of the ‘advantage makers’ he wrote about in the book).

The book opens with a true story that is really a great illustration of what I’d like to teach you today. It goes like this:

“Long ago, in Medieval Austria, a small but determined army was trying desperately to hold on to its fortress against tremendous odds.

For months they’d been surrounded by a hostile army.

With no way to contact outside help, their replenish stocks, supplies had dwindled to a desperate level.

Only one cow and 2 bags of grain remained.

The fortress soldiers, wracked with fatigue and hunger, turned to their commander for guidance.

Expecting their leader to say, “Ration the food for as long as we can hold out”, they were surprised when they received a different reply.

“Kill the cow, stuff it with all the grain we have and toss it over the wall when the next wave of attacks ensue.”

This seemed illogical, foolhardy, and dangerous.

However, during the next attack, they followed the unexpected order and heaved the grain-stuffed cow over the wall.

Without a doubt they anticipated a slow and anguished death by starvation.

But the commander had for-seen something that no one else had.

Confused by the bovine assault, several of the attackers took the cow back to their officer’s tent.

The attacking officer saw it as a signal of defiance from the fortress commander as well as a message that the soldiers had the will to fight on.

He reasoned that if they could afford to throw an entire cow stuffed with excess supplies over the wall, they must have vast stores of supplies; enough to last the winter.

He ordered an immediate retreat.”

Can you imagine that?

What the commander did may seem brilliant to us now…

We may wonder, in awe, how he came up with it.

But in truth, what the commander did, while eloquent, was common sense.

What he had been doing was not working.

In fact, had he decided to ration the food, in two more weeks they would still be under siege, but without food…no better off.

So he chose to shift his vantage point 180 degrees!

He sent a counter-intuitive message to his attackers that they had plenty of supplies and to prepare for battle.

This story demonstrates an important capacity you’ll want to develop as you begin creating your business.

Here is how I describe it in Steven’s book:

“You have to practice seeing all the interactions on the playing board, not a two-dimensional, flat board, but a
three dimensional view that enables you to see from all angles and perspectives.

A two-dimensional view doesn’t let you see the relative position of things; you can become numb, insensitive, fooled into
thinking you know what’s going on;

you need a field a vision to see all the players, the key gaps, the openings, so you can mobilize and get in position
to be in front.

And this must be an active process.”

To some degree the complexity of the relationships on the game board will be related to the complexity of your business model.

But just like you want to know everything about your business, you’ll want to know what is going on around your business.

And just like you won’t need to do everything in your business yourself, you’ll not need to tackle everything around your business yourself either.

But you DO want to understand it.

Take a look around your business or business concept. Look at what others in your industry or market ‘do’.

Do you see any similarities?

Without judging whether or not they will work, make a list of 3 strategies that are 180% and going in the opposite direction from the rest.

Question everything..

Refute what you believe is a given…

Explore the possibilities….

I once had an objective to triple revenue in one quarter…..and I accomplished it….How?

I questioned the status-quo opted for a 180 degree strategy and tripled our prices. We ended up with more, higher paying customers.

Share you most radical counter-intuitive idea by commenting below.

I’m standing for all that’s possible for you in life and business.

Sincerely,

Steve