Cultivate the willingness to endure physical, financial, or psychological pain beyond your competitors, as this capacity provides a significant advantage in business and competition.
Prioritize gaining control through ownership rather than being a passive shareholder or relying on titles, as true power and authority come from holding controlling stakes.
Embrace new, superior technologies (like steamships or railroads) and commit fully to them, rather than clinging to outdated methods or allowing sunk costs to dictate your future.
Be patient and willing to take temporary losses for long-term market ownership, avoiding the need for quick wins or external validation.
When challenged, aim not just to win, but to financially or otherwise finish competitors, going all in for complete domination.
Operate with minimal personal leverage and strategically manipulate market conditions (e.g., short-selling) to force rivals into poor positions, allowing you to capitalize on their misfortunes and gain control.
Execute clandestine stock purchases, turn enemies into allies, and pull off secret deals, revealing your strategy only when it’s too late for rivals to effectively react.
Understand and leverage multiple ways to generate income, including competing, being paid not to compete, and monopolizing, always focusing on the most lucrative opportunities.
Position yourself as an underdog against larger entities to gain public sympathy, even if you eventually become the dominant force, making business feel like high drama.
Introduce fixed schedules and reliable service, even when it means operating below capacity, to transform casual offerings into dependable ones and earn customer loyalty.
Relentlessly study and master the natural forces or technical aspects of your domain that others merely accommodate, working harder to gain an edge.
Compete aggressively on price, consistently undercutting established operators to the point of driving out rivals, as a signature strategy to dominate markets.
Understand that drastically reducing prices can significantly boost demand and increase volume, which can more than offset slim or even negative profit margins.
Evolve beyond being a mere laborer by investing your earnings to make money for you, expanding your reach and capabilities beyond what your direct labor can accomplish.
Relocate to or operate from centers of commerce and information to stay informed on market conditions, access opportunities, and build reputation.
Realize that desired wealth may require expanding beyond a core service (e.g., transportation) to trading in related goods (e.g., cargoes) to increase revenue streams.
Actively seek out partners who possess greater expertise and capital than you do to facilitate expansion and pursue larger opportunities.
Be willing to challenge established authorities or monopolies, especially when they hinder technological adoption or are unfair to competitors and customers.
Live frugally with tremendous self-control in personal expenditures, but show no such restraint when pursuing competition and business expansion.
Build a reputation for ruthlessness and competitive drive so strong that it can intimidate rivals into paying you off to avoid direct competition.
Develop strong judgment, foresight, and an intuitive understanding of logistics to coordinate complex operations across multiple domains, countries, and rivals, especially without modern communication tools.
Adhere strictly to your business commitments and word, even in times of crisis, as this quality builds authority and distinguishes you from others.
Consolidate interconnected entities into a single, larger enterprise to align interests, eliminate structural inefficiencies, reduce costs, and achieve economies of scale.