Pointing Up

In sailing, there are two dimensions of wind: true and apparent wind. True wind is the direction and speed with which wind moves. Apparent wind is how the wind feels when you are in motion. For example, if you've ever biked into or with the wind, you've noticed that it either grows stronger or weaker depending on your direction.

In sailing, you sail not to the true wind, but to the apparent wind. This means that when you're moving upwind, the faster you move, the faster the wind becomes. This changes your available directions to sail and you're able to aim closer and closer to the wind, "pointing up," compared to when you first started moving.

Similarly, in business, tactics shift as you develop momentum. There are things you do to catalyze the business that don't make sense once you're flying along. Additionally, there are tactics that work well when you have momentum that are ineffective at the start of your journey.

The key challenge is trading up. As you generate speed, it's worth checking in periodically and asking, "Can I trade up?" Is there a tactic that you can outsource, hire for, delete, or replace in a way that creates more value from where you are today?

The course changes as you travel it. Your context needs to evolve to match it. When was the last time you traded up?