How to set ambitious goals

At the beginning of my career, I had no trouble creating a development plan. I identified the certifications relevant to my goals and mapped out a clear path forward. But after earning my EMBA, I hit a point where my old strategies stopped working. The methods that once helped me navigate my career felt outdated. It became clear I needed to adapt and find new ways to stay ahead. That’s when I turned to reading—delving into recommended books to gather fresh insights.

Over time, I realized that it wasn’t enough to simply absorb the material. I had to apply the knowledge and reflect on the experiences it offered. That’s why I’ve decided to recap one of the most influential books I’ve read recently: Only the Paranoid Survive by Intel CEO Andy Grove. In this article, I’ll share my key takeaways from the book and how I’ve implemented them in my career, hoping these insights will be helpful to you too.

The Importance of Staying Vigilant

In any business or career, a tipping point is inevitable. It’s that moment when if you don’t adapt, you risk losing everything. Andy Grove describes a crisis Intel faced when Japanese competitors aggressively entered the market. Surprisingly, the company’s executives weren’t the first to notice the shifts—lower-level employees saw the warning signs early on.

I’ve seen similar dynamics play out in various industries. Think about how Japanese automakers disrupted American manufacturers, Netflix toppled Blockbuster, or how messaging apps like Viber and WhatsApp overtook traditional telecoms in the international calls market.

In my own business, we faced a similar tipping point. Eleven years ago, we built products around Magento 1. But when Magento 1 became obsolete, those products generated almost no revenue. Fortunately, we had made an early bet on Magento 2, which helped us not only survive but thrive, becoming a leader in our market. Staying vigilant and recognizing these changes in real-time was crucial to our success.

Grove suggests using the six-force technique and the tenfold gain principle to stay ahead of market shifts. The tenfold gain principle challenges you to imagine how your business would respond if any of the six forces increased or decreased by a factor of ten. For instance, what would happen if the cost of gasoline shot up from $1.55 to $15 per gallon? Would your transportation company survive such a massive disruption?

The Six-Force Technique

To understand how to adapt, Grove expands on Porter’s five forces model, adding more layers to help businesses anticipate change. Here’s a breakdown of the six forces that could dramatically impact your business:

End users/buyers – These are the people or companies willing to pay for your product or service. Their behavior and preferences can shift rapidly, often due to new technologies or competitors.
Suppliers – These are the companies or individuals you rely on to produce your product. For example, Netflix depends on copyright holders and internet service providers to keep their content accessible.
Intra-industry competition – This includes your direct competitors offering similar products or services. How are they evolving, and how are they pricing or positioning themselves?
New entrants – In today’s digital world, competition can come from anywhere. Freelancers or small businesses, armed with just a laptop and internet access, can disrupt industries previously dominated by local specialists.
Complementary products – These are other products or services that solve the same problem in different ways. For example, public transportation complements taxi services, and a hot dog stand could be a simpler, quicker alternative to a sit-down business lunch.
Substitutes – These are businesses whose success is linked to yours. If you sell computer processors, a computer manufacturer using your components would be a key substitute.

This technique, much like Porter’s model, emphasizes understanding competitive forces, but with the added focus of applying the tenfold gain principle. Imagine a world where your competitors become ten times cheaper, or your suppliers drastically raise prices. How would your business adapt? Grove’s method forces you to think beyond incremental changes and prepare for radical shifts.

Adapting to Change Before It’s Too Late

Recognizing these changes is one thing—adapting is another. Often, your business model remains profitable long after it starts becoming outdated. However, waiting until the tipping point can mean you’re already too late. By the time a competitor makes the first move or a client shifts direction, you could be left scrambling to recover lost ground.

The best scenario is one where you anticipate these shifts and begin adapting early, allowing your current business model to fuel the transition into something new. Think about it this way: if you left your company tomorrow and a new leader came in, what bold decisions would they make to propel the business forward?

Can you make those decisions today?

Grove describes the tipping point as the moment when a company’s growth hits its peak and starts to decline—a point where the “second derivative changes sign.” In simpler terms, it’s when the momentum that was once driving your success begins to slow down. Catching that moment early is key to thriving through change.

How to Recognize Your Company’s Tipping Point

So how do you recognize these triggers before it’s too late? Here are some strategies, drawn both from Grove’s insights and my personal experience:

Organize the transfer of information from the front lines to executives.
Keep a close eye on competitors.
Monitor technological changes and customer behavior.
Communicate with related companies in your industry.

In my company, I’ve implemented a few specific practices to stay ahead of these tipping points:

Ask for feedback from your team. Some of my favorite questions include: Why did we earn more or less than planned? Can we hit our targets with the current strategy? What should we stop doing or start doing differently?
Read autobiographies of successful leaders. Some of my favorites include Matsushita Leadership, The Everything Store, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?, Delivering Happiness, and The Innovators.
Subscribe to job vacancy newsletters in your field. This helps you stay updated on the most in-demand skills, technologies, and business trends.
Join leadership communities. Your challenges are often ones that others have already solved. Plus, contributing your own solutions can benefit the broader community and foster valuable connections.

Conclusion

In the words of Lewis Carroll: “My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere, you must run twice as fast as that.”

In today’s rapidly changing business world, this quote couldn’t be more relevant. Staying ahead requires constant vigilance, adaptability, and the courage to make bold decisions before a tipping point arrives. Success isn’t about avoiding these points of change—it’s about anticipating them and thriving through them.

So remember: to stay where you are, you have to run fast. But if you want to go further, you’ll need to run twice as fast.