The Arithmetic Operations of a CEO and Sustained and Steady Progress

What is the essence of entrepreneurship?

On the surface, it is a "game of energy competition" - the tidal force of the world's major trends, the brief gaps in the industry's window period, the enterprise's own resource endowments (capital, team, technology, channels...), and the founder's key decisions (strategic choices, resource allocation, crisis response) jointly determine the external trajectory of the enterprise's "success or failure".

However, when we peel away these obvious variables, we will find that the inner core of entrepreneurship is, in essence, a race between the slope of the CEO's cognitive curve and the time window given by the industry. In this long - distance race with "no known finish line", what is ultimately competed is not who has more resources or better luck, but who can, within a limited time, upgrade their cognitive speed to catch up with or even exceed the speed at which opportunities fade away. For CEOs, if we compare enterprise management to a math problem, "addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division" are the most basic problem - solving tools. Addition is to lay the foundation, subtraction is to focus, division is to start over, and multiplication is to achieve explosive growth and evolution.

Part One: Addition is to lay the foundation

"Addition" is often the first compulsory course in a CEO's career, especially in the early stage of a startup or during a critical turning point. It determines whether the organization can survive, whether the cognition can break through, and whether the state can be sustained.

Addition One: Role Superposition - From "Specialist" to "Integrator", Filling the Role Gaps in the Enterprise

When a startup is in its infancy, resources, teams, and processes are in an "atomized" state: technology depends on the founder, the market needs to be developed from scratch, and team management is all about exploration. At this time, the primary task of the CEO is not to "do things perfectly" but to "do things comprehensively".

The core action of the CEO at this stage is to jump out of the professional comfort zone, shift from "doing things alone" to "leading the team to do things", and become a "well - rounded warrior".

CEOs with a scientific background need to learn to negotiate financing, tell stories, build teams, and learn management; product experts need to understand the supply chain and monitor cash flow; they may even need to temporarily fill the gaps in administration and customer service. This is not "being unprofessional"; rather, when the enterprise is on the verge of survival, the CEO must become the "biggest patch". This "role superposition" essentially uses the CEO's "omnipotence" to fill the organization's "non - omnipotence", enabling the enterprise to quickly run through the minimum closed - loop with limited resources.

Addition Two: Cognitive Expansion - Facing New Variables, Breaking the Information Cocoon with the "Social Lever"

When an enterprise reaches a growth bottleneck or a strategic inflection point (such as transforming into AI, going global, or deploying new businesses), the CEO's cognitive boundary often becomes the ceiling of the enterprise. At this time, "doing addition" is not blind learning but actively expanding the network of contacts and information input sources beyond one's own cognition, using the social network to hedge against cognitive blind spots.

The core action is to make a wide range of "cross - border friends" and shift from being "experience - driven" to being "insight - driven".

1) CEOs in the traditional home appliance industry learn from CEOs in the Internet industry: They learn from the user data - driven model, optimize product iteration by analyzing consumer behavior, shift from being "function - oriented" to providing "scenario - based experiences", and enhance the user stickiness of smart home appliances.

2) CEOs in the automobile manufacturing industry learn from CEOs in technology companies: They introduce the logic of software ecosystem construction, jointly develop the Internet of Vehicles system, extend from "hardware production" to "travel services", and reshape the enterprise's profit model.

3) CEOs in the fast - moving consumer goods industry learn from CEOs in the cultural and creative industry: They absorb the methods of storytelling marketing and IP co - branding, combine product packaging with cultural symbols, attract young people, and achieve brand premium growth.

The collision of these "non - direct experiences" can quickly fill the cognitive gaps in new fields. Transformation is not about thinking in isolation but about integrating external "new knowledge" into the internal "old system". This cognitive addition is essentially a "navigation device" for the enterprise to find its second growth curve.

Addition Three: Life Empowerment - Using "Non - work Energy" to Feed Back into Decision - making Quality

Many CEOs fall into a misunderstanding: they think that "addition" is only an accumulation at the work level, but they ignore that the "supplementation" from life is also crucial. In fact, the "addition" of the life state is the underlying fuel for combating decision - making fatigue and maintaining creativity.

The core action is to cultivate "seemingly useless things" and establish a "spiritual anchor outside of work".

Some people maintain their energy through exercise; some nourish their inspiration with art; some obtain emotional support through family connections. These seemingly "useless" details of life are actually the CEO's "energy bank". When the addition at work approaches the limit, the addition in life can help you restart your thinking.

Addition is not about "doing everything" but about "accumulating strength for key variables". A CEO's addition is never a blind expansion. Instead, it fills the organizational gaps during the survival period, fills the cognitive gaps during the transformation period, and fills the energy gaps during the high - pressure period. It is like sowing seeds before a gardener prunes: first, make the roots strong enough (role superposition), the branches and leaves lush enough (cognitive expansion), and the soil fertile enough (life empowerment). Only then will there be confidence for future subtraction and a foundation for multiplication.

Part Two: Subtraction is to focus

Subtraction: Get rid of redundancy and focus on the most important things

If addition is the "foundation - laying technique" for CEOs during the survival period, then subtraction is the "calibrator" for enterprises at critical turning points. On the entrepreneurial path, there are too many temptations and distractions: opportunities for new businesses, expectations from the team, voices from the outside world, pressure from capital... If a CEO doesn't know how to do subtraction, it's easy for the enterprise to fall into the trap of "wanting to do everything but doing nothing well". Truly experienced CEOs know how to "do subtraction" at three key nodes - cutting directions, cutting roles, and cutting desires, so that the enterprise and themselves can travel light.

Subtraction One: Subtraction within the Ability Circle - In the early stage of entrepreneurship, "Don't do addition problems, only do choice problems"

When a startup is in its infancy, the most dangerous thing is not a lack of resources but excessive ambition. Many CEOs enter the market full of enthusiasm to "disrupt the industry" but forget their "ability boundaries". Those with a technical background want to cover the entire industry chain, and those with a sales background want to expand all channels. Eventually, they spread their limited resources too thin and fail in the face of the crushing of giants or market fluctuations. At this time, subtraction means clearly defining "what I can do" and "what I can't do", and using the "ability circle" to define the living space.

Core actions:

Cut directions: Abandon the "big and comprehensive" approach and focus on the "small and painful" niche markets. Don't confront giants head - on. Instead, find niche scenarios where "customers have pain points, competitors haven't covered, and you can handle it".

Cut resources: Allocate 80% of human resources and capital to a core product or service instead of promoting multiple projects simultaneously.

Subtraction Two: Role Subtraction - In the growth stage, "Step back and let the team charge forward"

When an enterprise moves from the survival period to the rapid growth stage, the CEO's "addition inertia" will expose new problems: micromanagement leads to decision - making bottlenecks, the team loses initiative due to relying on the CEO's decisions, and resources are scattered on non - core matters. At this time, subtraction means that the CEO takes the initiative to "step back", changes from being a "doer" to a "person who makes others do things", and returns to the three core tasks of a CEO: setting directions, building teams, and shaping culture.

Core actions:

1) Step back to the "strategic level": Cut out the "execution details" in which the CEO participates. For example, stop personally overseeing product UI design and focus on "What is the strategic track for the next three years?" and "Should we enter a new market?"

2) Step back behind the team: Clearly define the division of labor - "What I do, what the team does, and what partners do". For example, a technical CEO doesn't need to understand every code logic but should ensure that the R & D team has resources and autonomy; a sales CEO doesn't need to accompany every customer but should build a replicable sales system.

3) Step outside the boundaries: Replace "controlling management" with "empowering management", give the team room for trial and error, and evaluate based on results rather than processes.

Subtraction Three: Desire Subtraction - In the long - term, "Hold on to the spiritual core and don't be kidnapped by greed"

The more successful an enterprise is, the more temptations a CEO faces: side businesses for quick money, seemingly attractive new tracks, capital games that can double the valuation... Many people stumble here: blind diversification drags down the main business, chasing after trends leads to the loss of core competitiveness, and eventually, the enterprise becomes a "firework enterprise" that burns brightly but briefly. At this time, subtraction means restraining the instinct of "expanding outward", holding on to the purity of "digging deep inward", and regarding the "spiritual core" of the enterprise as more important than short - term interests.

Core actions:

1) Cut desires: Reject the idea of "doing whatever makes money" and only do things related to core capabilities. Entrepreneurs should stay within their scope and earn the money they should earn.

2) Cut vanity: Don't pursue the false name of being the "industry leader" but pursue the real achievement of making users "unable to do without". For example, Jiro Ono, the "Sushi Master" in Japan, has only run one small shop for decades and refused to expand through chains because "the taste will change if the scale gets too large".

3) Cut anxiety: Don't be distracted by "what competitors are doing" and focus on your long - term goals. Warren Buffett adheres to "investment within the ability circle". Even if he misses the Internet bubble, he doesn't invest in technology stocks he doesn't understand because "greed is the enemy of investment".

Subtraction is not "giving up" but "focusing".

A CEO's subtraction is never about "doing less" but about "doing the right things". Cut out the vague directions during the entrepreneurial period to let the enterprise survive; cut out the redundant roles during the growth period to let the team move forward; cut out the greedy desires in the long - term to let the enterprise stand firm. Just like a gardener pruning branches: by cutting off the minor branches, the main trunk can grow taller; by removing the excess burden, one can walk farther.

Part Three: "Division" is to start over

Division: Strip away redundancy and let the organization and cognition return to the essential strength

If addition is about "accumulating resources" and subtraction is about "cutting out redundancy and focusing on the key", then division is like "peeling an onion". Through rational decomposition and in - depth reflection, it strips away external contingencies, removes the organizational fat, and breaks through the cognitive fog, allowing the enterprise and oneself to return to the most authentic growth logic. For CEOs, division is not about "negating the past" but about "seeing the future clearly". Only by figuring out "what is luck", "what is ability", "what should be persisted", and "what should be reshaped" can one avoid the "success trap" and achieve sustainable breakthroughs.

Division One: Attribution of Success - Use the "God's perspective" to decompose luck and ability, and stay humble and sober

When an enterprise achieves phased success, CEOs are most likely to fall into "attribution bias". They either take all the credit for the achievements themselves or the team's ability (leading to blind expansion) or overly blame the external environment (losing the motivation to progress). At this time, division means using rational tools to decompose the elements of success, distinguishing between "external dividends", "platform capabilities", and "personal efforts", and providing a real coordinate for the next decision - making.

Core actions:

1) Make a "success list": Decompose the enterprise's key successes (such as a product becoming a hit, successful financing, or an increase in market share) one by one, and mark "external factors" (policy dividends, industry trends, competitors' mistakes), "platform capabilities" (supply chain efficiency, brand potential, user base), and "personal abilities" (strategic judgment, resource integration, crisis handling).

2) Conduct "comparative experiments": Verify with the question "If XX didn't exist, could we still succeed?" For example, if a product became a hit because it caught up with the live - streaming e - commerce trend, one can assume "If the trend hadn't emerged, could the product still impress users with its functions?"

3) Keep a "reflection diary": Regularly record "What successes made me overconfident?" and "What failures exposed my cognitive blind spots?" Use writing to fight against the "success paralysis syndrome".

Division Two: Organizational Capabilities - Strip away "stage dependence" and make the organizational muscles adapt to the new battlefield

As an enterprise moves from the startup stage to the growth stage and then to the maturity stage, the requirements for organizational capabilities will change drastically. In the startup stage, it relies on the "personal heroism of the founder"; in the growth stage, it relies on "processes and replication"; in the maturity stage, it relies on "innovation and iteration". At this time, division means identifying the "organizational capabilities in the existing market during adversity", eliminating the outdated "muscle memory", and cultivating the "new capabilities" suitable for the new stage.

Core actions:

1) Draw a "capability life - cycle diagram": Sort out the enterprise's past key success events, mark the corresponding organizational capabilities (such as "a ground - pushing sales force", "rapid trial - and - error", "ecosystem synergy"), and judge whether these capabilities are still applicable to the current stage (such as from "seizing the market" to "defending the market").

2) Conduct an "organizational capability check - up": Use three criteria - "Whether it supports the strategy", "Whether it can be replicated", and "Whether there is an alternative solution" - to screen out the "capabilities that must be retained" (such as user insight), the "capabilities that must be eliminated" (such as extensive expansion), and the "capabilities that must be cultivated" (such as refined operation).

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