How Can You Break Your Habits and Achieve Excellence in Business?

TL;DR

Break habits that limit business growth by practicing better timing, continuous innovation, and decisive action. The Simon Personal Communicator arrived in 1992 when available technology could barely support it, while Steve Jobs unveiled the more intuitive iPhone on January 9, 2007. Read on to see how Miyamoto Musashi’s strategic principles explain the importance of rhythm, adaptability, and becoming difficult to predict.

Transcript

humans are rational creatures many of us rarely deviate from the path once we've started we are predictable and largely consistent in other words you are a creature of habit you've likely heard this famous quote from Aristotle before we are what we repeatedly do Excellence then is not an act but a habit but what if the very thing said to make you e... Read More

Key Insights

• "the Simon was the right idea at the wrong time people simply weren't ready for it in 1992" (3:35)
• "this is essentially one of the problems innovators face present something too early and nobody gets it present something too late and the wave has passed" (4:15)
• "the timing was impeccable and not only that jobs had stood by Apple's motive of being insanely great" (4:59)
• "the truth is that the more successful you become the harder it is actually to change" (0:42)

Questions & Answers

Q: How can you break habits that hold you and your business back?

Recognize when comfort, familiar products, or predictable decisions are preventing growth, then practice changing direction. The lesson combines timing, innovation, and action as essential steps for turning momentum in your favor.

Q: Why does business success make change harder?

Greater success can create stronger attachments to a particular lifestyle, established products, and familiar processes. As a company gains more employees, its decision-making can also become slower.

Q: What business lesson comes from Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings?

Musashi explains that large groups have difficulty changing position, so their movements become easy to predict. Applied to business, this means that adaptability and quick changes can make a company more difficult for competitors to anticipate.

Q: How did Steve Jobs make Apple difficult to predict?

Steve Jobs could pivot in a new direction and make decisions quickly despite running a company with thousands of employees. This ability allowed Apple to change direction rapidly instead of remaining locked into a predictable path.

Q: Why did the Simon Personal Communicator fail while the iPhone succeeded?

The Simon had the right idea at the wrong time because people and available technology were not ready for it in 1992. Its hard drives were too large for the handset, add-on cards were needed for functions such as GPS, and the phone kept crashing. By 2007, the market had more context for smartphones and Apple had removed barriers to use through innovation and craftsmanship.

Q: What features did the Simon Personal Communicator have?

The Simon had a touchscreen and an easy-to-navigate home screen filled with icons. It also offered games, apps, internet access, email, GPS, and stock quotes.

Q: What does timing mean for business innovation?

An innovation presented too early may not be understood or supported by available technology. Presented too late, it may miss the wave. Musashi says understanding timing and rhythm requires practice.

Q: When did Steve Jobs unveil the iPhone, and why was its timing effective?

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone on January 9, 2007, at Macworld San Francisco. Phones such as the BlackBerry Curve, Nokia N95, and Samsung Blackjack had already given the market context, while the iPhone removed physical buttons in favor of a giant screen and emphasized intuitive use.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Humans are creatures of habit, which can hold both individuals and businesses back from reaching greatness.

• Steve Jobs was a master at pivoting and making quick decisions, which allowed Apple to dominate the market.

• Timing is crucial for success, as demonstrated by the failure of the Simon smartphone in 1992 and the success of the iPhone in 2007.

• Innovation is essential for growth and staying ahead of the competition, as shown by Apple's continuous efforts to create revolutionary products.