When I worked at AND 1 as the Creative Director for Footwear, I spent a lot of time in Asia at our development facility in Taiwan and our production facilities in China. My time with the company shaped my business thinking and exposed me to every aspect of a consumer facing business from product design, development, sales and marketing to operations, finance and customer service. Since leaving the company in 2003, I have realized that my time working in Asia shaped my approach to problem solving, negotiation and partnerships. The wonderful people I worked with in our overseas facilities helped me evolve from a brash liberal arts major with more confidence than credibility to a consistent and respectful business partner.
It was typical for us to exchange small gifts with our partners (books, plaques and other trinkets with meaning, but little monetary value) around holidays and business achievements. At some point along the way I was given a copy of the I Ching as a token of appreciation. This book sat on a shelf in my apartment for months as I was hardly ever home and used my flights primarily for sleeping rather than reading. Upon leaving AND 1, I started a company and sepnt three years dealing with legal and other challenges that ultimately resulted in failure. In one of many moments of duress I began to read the I Ching and while I am not a believer in the hexagrams as a system of divination, I do believe the writing describes an approach that echos the lessons I learned in Asia and can serve as a framework to support better decision making in a start-up environment.
There are 64 verses in the I Ching and over the next couple months I am going to try to publish my interpretation of how each verse would have been written if it had been written for entrepreneurs. I will tag each new verse with “I Ching” and have created a sub-catagory to Launch Code called Start-Up I Ching where I will file all 64 verses as they are written.
With that, the first verse:
RESPOND. DO NOT REACT. You always have more time to make a decision than you think. Do not allow decision points to be forced upon you. When a decision is required, use your strength as a leader to create the time and space you need to gain perspective, to be thoughtful. Make a habit of consulting with people you respect and admire. Be a conscientious observer and a student of your craft. Take time to recall the advice of your mentors, to draw out your insight and evaluate your position. When you have settled on a decision, respond with confidence.
