Business Principles

Which business principle names the constraint that should govern the next decision?

Problem: Many principles may apply, but only one constraint governs the system now.

Question: Which principle best explains what is stopping value from compounding?

Decision: Start with the binding constraint, then use the linked principle to test the next move.

The Spine

Binding Constraint — distinguish value fit, leverage, distribution, trust, capability, capital, time, focus, and coordination before choosing a fix.
Foundation: Zero to One, Critical Path, and Incentive Alignment — establish conviction, the shortest viable route, and motives that support it.
Value: Unit Economics, Cash Flow, Leverage, Value Capture, and Product-Market Fit — test whether value is real, survivable, scalable, and retained.
Growth: Distribution, Snowball Effect, and Network Effects — move proven value into reachable demand and compounding relationships.
Protection: Moat, Antifragile, Intelligence Arbitrage, Pricing Power, and Asymmetric Fields — defend advantage, resilience, insight, margin, and favourable games.
Navigation: Market Forces, Opportunity Cost, Timing, Innovator's Dilemma, and Power Law — read external pressure, trade-offs, windows, disruption, and asymmetric returns.

Changes my mind: A child principle no longer helps a reader diagnose a distinct business constraint or duplicates another route.

depends-on Purpose — test whether the chosen constraint matters to the intended outcome.
proved-by Performance Reality — measure whether acting on the principle changes the system.
pairs-with Navigation — turn the diagnosed constraint into a question and decision.
depends-on Business — the operating system these principles govern.
applies-to First Principles — strip the chosen constraint to the forces that make it true.

Next question: Which principle is missing, duplicated, or too weakly connected to a real decision?