The horse is made ready for battle...

It was a a time like this last year when I felt persuaded to write about my business journey. Well, how fast time has flown. Without a doubt, a lot has happened over the last one year. But let's pick up the conversation from where we stopped. Last time we were talking about horses; and I want to share a key thought that has brought me this far - and that as it turns out... has to do with horses.

A driving force in business for me over the years has been this principle drawn from Proverbs (21:31).
The horse is made ready for battle, BUT victory rests with the LORD.

Traditional Warfare, Modern Businesses
Traditionally, horses were the "vehicles" for war. Expansion of a king's territory was through war and to do this, the horses that went to war had to have been well prepared. So how does this relate to a modern entrepreneur? Many of the concepts of traditional warfare are applicable to the modern day business environment. You hear words like "cut-throat competition". Whereas victory for a traditional king may have been in "winning a battle," victory for today's businessman may be in "winning a tender." Laying plans, designing strategy, building teams, expansion to new territories are things that an entrepreneur will be involved in today, but which would not be too alien to an army commander of a thousand years ago. The landscape has of course changed a lot over the years but it seems that the principles applicable to warfare back then have found their place in the business environment. Strategy, courage, accurate timing are just a few examples of principles that applied to traditional warfare and are equally applicable to today's business environment. Probably the best indication of this is the popularity that such writings as The Art of War by Sun Tzu have found in today's business world. You can also think of the "Trojan Horse" - a malicious computer program which misleads users of its true intent. The term is derived from the Ancient Greek story of the deceptive wooden horse that led to the fall of the city of Troy. Indeed, ancient warfare concepts find place in today's business environment.

The horse is made ready for battle...
If indeed ancient warfare concepts find home in today's business environment, what then would be the entrepreneur's horse? I would say it is his business. How well the company/firm is built represents the strength of the entrepreneur in achieving his goals - e.g. of winning additional market share, expanding to new territories and so on. Importantly from this proverb is that the horse is made ready for battle... It is important for the businessman to "make his horse ready for battle." It is important that the businessman is deliberate in building his business. Finding an appropriate business name, setting up initial business systems in place such as opening a bank account, establishing a financial system, designing a social media strategy, doing sales and business development. All of this is making a horse ready for battle and it is important to the success of the business.

BUT victory rests with the LORD
The second part of the proverb states that victory rests with the LORD. It is important to make the horse ready for battle - brand your company, build a great team, have a sales plan, track your expenses, manage your taxes etc - but none of these in and of themselves provide business success. The best laid plans will still not grant business success unless God so ordains. A very obvious example in my journey of entrepreneurship is this: some of the clients we put a lot of effort in following up, did not necessarily come through. On the other hand, some of the best and longest had clients came to us without necessarily a lot of effort on our part. Now I know many in today's world may simply relegate such scenarios to chance, good luck or bad omen. I am however persuaded that it is more than mere chance, good luck or bad omen. Behind every signed deal is the unseen hand of a Mighty God.

Is it possible that some of the business that never came through was because we didn't understand the client need, had not designed proper product features that meet client needs, we were too expensive (or even unbelievably cheap)? All of those are possibilities whose analysis and corrective action is part of "making the horse ready for battle". Being blind to those realities and simply saying God ordained the outcome may not be the most accurate thing to do. It however remains that having done our best to "make the horse ready for battle", God still has the final word.

As the old adage goes, do your best, let God do the rest.

Voice of Truth II: Run Your Race!

In my previous article, I talked of the two voices: one urging me to write and another urging me to wait. Seeing as you're reading this, it means that the voice urging me to write must have won. :)

What allows someone starting out on a journey to have the courage to write about it?

First, it is the understanding that we are all on the journey - on the journey of life. More importantly in this case, it is the understanding that we are at different stages within the journey. There are some ahead and others behind. Those ahead are not better or more important, they are just ahead.

This may be best illustrated by the powerful words of Max Erhmann in Desiderata

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enough said.

Second is the understanding that we do not draw our worth from material possessions or achievements such as business or career success. In the words of the United State's Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self evident, 

that all men are created equal 

and are endowed by their Creator 

with certain unalienable rights...

This implies that our intrinsic worth as human beings is not dependent on our achievements but is inherent upon birth. Though business or career success may bring a sense of accomplishment and with it money (which of course affords us many privileges we would miss in it's absence), we should always be conscious of the fact that there is more to life; and our sense of worth should be intact in spite of our achievements and acquisitions.

In the comedy film Head of State, Mays Gilliam finds himself thrust into the race for the White House. Assuming the election was already lost to the sitting Vice President, Mays Gilliam's party picked him as a likable but unwinnable party for the sole reason of improving their chances in the next presidential election. He wasn't chosen to win. However, against all odds, Gilliam begins to rise in the polls and as with most election campaigns, the opponents start mudslinging. Gilliam is tempted to reiterate but receives this very sound advice that I think should define the attitude of every entrepreneur:

"Have you ever been to a horse race?... The horses wear blinders. They don't even see each other. They just run their race. So don't worry about [them]. JUST RUN YOUR RACE!



Without a doubt, comparison breeds competition. Competition has been touted to have it's advantages in the world of business. It may therefore come across as a little hard or confusing to claim that one not need be competitive to succeed. But this is my persuasion - that I don't need to compare myself with others - I just need to work at excelling at what I do. As a business, we don't need to be overly concerned about competition - we just need to clearly define our promise and be true in keeping it. The pressure to grow as a person or business should not come from the outside, straining to be like others. It should come from within, seeking to be the best me there can be. I just need to run my race.