Anthony is author of the "The Hyperfocused Entrepreneur". He also has a Youtube channel with 15k+ subscribers, built and exited two 7-figure companies, and manages a $80M real estate portfolio.
Guest Author: Anthony Vicino
Here’s 5 mental models from Chess I used to build my an 8-figure company:
1. Control the Center
2. True Value of a Piece
3. Owning the Initiative
4. Position over Submission
5. The Hardest Move to See
Here’s how to apply them to your business…
1. Control the Center
This is a fundamental rule of high level chess.
The player controlling the middle four squares of the board has a massive advantage.
Think of it like the high ground.
From this position your pieces have maximum influence across the battlefield.
As the founder (or general) of your business, ask yourself:
Where is the center of my board?
Identify and control it at all costs.
2. True Value of a Piece
One of the first things you learn about chess is that all the pieces have different values.
Typically, each piece is worth:
Pawn = 1
Knight = 3
Bishop = 3 – 3.5
Rook = 5
Queen = 9
King = Priceless
This is a quick and easy way to calculate who has the stronger army.
Trading a Knight and Bishop (3.0+3.0) is roughly equal to one Rook (5) plus Pawn (1)
Great starting point, but it’s just the beginning.
Truth is, the value of a piece is relative to the board dynamics.
Here’s what this means for your business:
The value of your people is dependent on where you put them on the board.
Jim Collins famously expressed this as getting the right people on the bus in the right seats.
It’s amazing how everything changes when you get this right.
3. Owning the Initiative
It’s not always who has the biggest army…
Sometimes, it’s about something else entirely.
Something called The Initiative.
The Initiative is determined by which player is dictating the action.
Answer that question, and you can predict with a high degree of certainty who will ultimately arise victorious.
In business, a lack of skill or experience can almost always be overcome with the appropriate amount of gusto.
So move towards your goals with momentum, inertia, and ENERGY.
4. Position over Submission
New players fixate on the checkmate.
Advanced players understand that if you control the position, the checkmates will naturally appear.
I think about this a lot as it pertains to sales and marketing.
Often we go for the knock out punch (or sale) before laying the groundwork.
As a result, sales are WAY more difficult than they need to be.
5. The Hardest Move to Find
Vasyl Ivanchuk famously said:
“The hardest move to find is a knight retreat.”
The moves taking us one step back before taking two steps forward are incredibly hard to see not only in Chess, but in Business and in Life.
Intentionally moving away from our goal (firing high maintenance customers, rethinking our entire business plan, or taking our best selling product offline) is so unintuitive that we often never even consider it.
And yet…
Sometimes a step back is, in fact, the fastest way to move forward.
P.S. If you enjoyed this, then check the comments below for a video I think you’re gonna LOVE.
