10 Strategies of the World's Most Successful Businesses...

In his book Ninja Innovation, which all NALC attendees received, Gary uses the ancient ninja metaphor to convey killer strategies of the world's most successful business. Here is a synopsis of 10 ninja strategies used by successful businesses. These are applicable to any industry, including ours.

Your Goal is Victory: The goal of a ninja is to defeat the enemy and complete the job. Likewise, the goal of an enterprise is to be better than the competition. Successful businesses succeed because they are driven to win and where the ultimate of the business strategy was clearly defined as victory.

Your Strike Force: Ninjas often operated as a team. More important, they were a team of professionals, not amateurs. One of the steps of any enterprise is to build the right team.

In War, Risk is Unavoidable: Ninjas and successful leaders approach their assignments as a way of life not merely a "day job." (See my article on passion.) If you don't take risks, you won't be successful.

Prepare for Battle: A ninjas behavior is grounded in a specific mental attitude. We call this discipline. To succeed, you must mentally steel yourself for the trials ahead. You will fail, often spectacularly. But never take your eyes off the goal.

The Art of War: Successful strategy is an art, not a science. Often you will not know all you should know to achieve success. That's okay. A successful strategy is a living strategy: it must be executed in a way that allows for a change in tactics. Your competition is fierce and smart, and they won't let you willingly defeat them. Expect surprises and adjust accordingly.

The Ninja Code: No matter what the goal, all actions are "informed" by a martial code of conduct, a.k.a. business ethics. Ninjas create chaos because they don't follow the normal rules; that's how they succeed. But even ninjas follow a code of ethics.