Read time: 5 minutes.

At a glance:

• Quote:

• Picture

• What I’ve Learned

• Business Idea

What I Learned:

So this guy is looking at the American motorcycle market.

He notices that it’s mostly made up of expensive, big-name brands. i.e. Harley-Davidson.

And these big-name brands are costly.

So he runs to Honda’s management team:

“Look, we can make a killing if we manufacture and make a cheaper motorcycle in America. We got the ability, the parts, and the distribution. We can easily make and sell a motorcycle for 10-20% less. Easy money.”

Honda starts manufacturing and shipping cheaper bikes.

—But it nearly destroys Honda.

It’s a poor man’s motorcycle.

The bikes leak oil on long drives and high speeds.

You can’t repair them because American mechanics won’t touch them.

Honda is not only pissed and confused—its bleeding cash.

So in a fit of rage, this guy takes one of the smaller motorcycles and drives up to the hills west of LA. He starts riding up and down the mountain.  Poppin' wheelies. Jumping over earth-made ramps. Screaming in frustration. A cathartic way to release anger for this massive failure.

But something strange happens…

A few other guys take notice.

They see this dude having the time of his life.

And they ask to try.

One by one, orders start to come through.

Soon after, Sears adds this new bike to their catalog. 

Honda’s management team isn’t too fond of the idea of catalog sales, but accepts.

Until management realizes this is the only bike that’s substantially …growing.

Honda pivots.

They start selling these bikes to an unforeseen group of users known as ‘off-roaders.’

They advertise for these bikes to be used only

….in the dirt.

The rest, they say, is history.

One of my favorite business authors, Clayton Christensen, introduced me to this story a decade ago.

Maybe you’re like me and think that the phrase "business strategy" conjures up an image of a brilliant Warren Buffett archetype, thinking 40 chess moves ahead, and having a detailed list of milestones to hit over the next ten years.

You might be an orthodontist who thinks that by 2030, you must have three locations.

Or a professional who needs to be a “C-suite executive” in ten years.

As an entry-level employee a decade ago, one of my PowerPoint slides was a ten-year vision of where I saw myself at the company and the positions I would hold on my way up.

I’ve changed companies twice since.

But Clayton reminds us that strategy comes in two parts:

Deliberate.

And Emergent.

And they’re both sides of the same coin.

Deliberate is just that: your plans, chess moves, and executables today that aim you toward where you want to go.

But just as important is the emergent. It’s unanticipated. It emerges in the problems and opportunities you encounter while trying to be deliberate.

Honda’s team had no idea about dirt bikes. They didn’t conjure this idea in a fluorescent-lit boardroom full of suits. They just…failed into it.

What’s crazy is that—according to Clayton—this process is how most companies develop a winning strategy. 

From Clayton;

“In our lives and our careers, whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly navigating a path by deciding between our deliberate strategies and unanticipated alternatives that emerge. Neither is inherently better or worse; instead, the understanding of this will enable you to sort through the choices in front of you.”

In other words:

“Strategy emerges from the combination of each.”

If you ever feel at a loss for a five-year step-by-step plan for your business, career, or life—

Relax.

Concentrate on what’s in front of you and work hard. 

Aim to lean more into your interests, talents, and priorities. Discover what works and who’s responding.

Then leave the door open.

And be ready when the luck happens.

 

^{Reference and story: Christensen, Clayton M. Et Al. How Will You Measure Your Life? HarperBusiness. 2012.}

“Think big. Study hard. Execute with passion. See where life takes you.”