Business Crisis? Try Fundamentals

Guy Raz Newsletter – August 1, 2024

One of the strangest things I’ve learned about business is how often we ignore the most obvious things. The things we know we are supposed to do. The cliches. The aphorisms. The eye-roll-ey mantras.

You know them… “follow your north star” “gather around a shared mission” “define your values” “know your why”…that sort of stuff.

People have built very successful careers handing out this kind of advice (like my friend Simon Sinek) and yet…AND YET…we don’t always do these things.

I’m not trying to lay on a guilt trip. Life…and work…get in the way. Especially when you are trying to build a brand. The day-to-day naturally takes precedence over seemingly pointless exercises like codifying a set of values.

Except, time and again, what I’ve found is that those seemingly pointless exercises aren’t just FUNDAMENTAL…they are also TRANSFORMATIONAL.

Case in point? The story of Specialized Bicycle Components.

Mike Sinyard launched the brand in the mid-1970s. By the mid-1980s, Specialized was a leading ma…