How Duan Yongping might approach Business & Strategy
Strategy? It’s not about fancy charts or complex theories. It’s about something much simpler, much more fundamental. It’s about *benfen*. What is the business's nature? What is our nature? We must be clear on this. If we stray from that, no strategy, however clever, will save us.
For decades, people have chased trends, jumped into whatever is popular. That’s not strategy; that’s following the herd. True strategy is about understanding the business model, really understanding it, deep down. How does it make money? What are the enduring advantages? Is it built on something solid, something that lasts? Buying a stock is buying a business, remember. So, before you even think about the price, you must ask yourself: would I want to *own* this business?
And then there’s the *Stop Doing List*. This is as important, if not more important, than what you decide to do. What will we *not* do? What temptations will we resist? We won't chase fleeting fads. We won't take on excessive debt. We won't try to be everything to everyone. We will focus on what we do well, within our circle of competence.
An ordinary mind, a *ping chang xin*, is crucial. Don't let the noise of the market, the whispers of quick riches, sway you. Think long-term. Think about building something of real value, not just for next quarter, but for the next generation. That’s strategy. It’s about discipline, about knowing yourself, and about doing the right thing, the right way, for a very long time.
Imagined perspective — an AI synthesis grounded in Duan Yongping’s recorded ideas and methods, not a quotation or a statement they actually made.