Business Principles

What truths must you understand to build something that lasts?

Business principles are not advice. They build judgment — seeing the forces at play so you can work with them rather than be destroyed by them.

Saying the right things and doing the right things when they matter most are two very different things.

Foundation

Principle	Question	Builds
Zero to One	How do you create something from nothing?	Conviction
Critical Path	What is the shortest route to viable value?	Clarity
Incentive Alignment	Are the people in the system motivated to do the right thing?	Trust

Conviction to start. Clarity on where to begin. Trust that the system works.

Principle	Question	Builds
Unit Economics	Does the fundamental math work?	Confidence
Cash Flow Is King	How much control do you have over money in vs money out?	Survival
Leverage	How do you amplify output without proportional effort?	Capital
Value Capture	Are you capturing the value you create?	Margin
Product-Market Fit	Does demand pull product out of your hands?	Traction

Confidence the math works. Cash to stay alive. Capital to grow. Margin to keep. Traction that proves it.

Principle	Question	Builds
Distribution	How do you reach those who need what you offer?	Customers
Snowball Effect	What creates compounding momentum?	Compounding
Network Effects	Does value increase as participation grows?	Community

Customers who pay. Compounding that accelerates. Community that sustains.

Principle	Question	Builds
Moat	How defensible is your position?	Advantage
Antifragile	Do you get stronger from chaos?	Resilience
Info Arbitrage	What do you know — and can translate into action — that others don't?	Edge
Pricing Power	Can you raise prices without losing customers?	Margin

Advantage that keeps you alive. Resilience that makes you stronger. Edge that compounds. Margin that funds it all.

Principle	Question	Builds
Market Forces	What external pressures shape your decisions?	Context
Opportunity Cost	What is the true cost of your choices?	Discipline
Timing	When matters as much as what — is now the moment?	Patience
Innovator's Dilemma	How would you beat yourself?	Paranoia

Context to decide. Discipline to focus. Patience to wait. Paranoia to adapt.

Principle	Question	Builds
Virtuous Feedback Loop	Have you engineered positive feedback loops?	Compounding
Power Law	Are you concentrating effort where returns are asymmetric?	Allocation

Understanding is not applying. For each principle:

Level	Question
1 - Aware	Can you explain this principle?
2 - Applied	Have you used it in a real decision?
3 - Systematic	Is it embedded in your processes?
4 - Mastery	Do you teach it to others?
5 - Instinct	Do you apply it without thinking?

Stage	Principles	Core Question
Foundation	Zero to One, Critical Path, Incentive Alignment	Can we create viable value?
Value	Unit Economics, Cash Flow, Leverage, Value Capture, PMF	Does the math work?
Growth	Distribution, Snowball, Network Effects	Can we compound?
Protection	Moat, Antifragile, Info Arbitrage, Pricing Power	Can we survive?
Navigation	Market Forces, Opportunity Cost, Timing, Innovator's Dilemma	Are we reading the game?
Meta	Virtuous Feedback Loop, Power Law	Are we compounding?

Which business principle do you intellectually agree with but consistently violate under pressure?

What would change if you audited your business against these and scored 1 on half of them?
Which principle are you strongest on — and is that strength compensating for weakness elsewhere?
What principle is missing from this list that your experience has taught you?