Is Zero Greater Than One? (Yes, It Is)

“Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world.”
 - Archimedes

​We have all heard the old adage “work smarter not harder,” but what does that actually mean? What does it look like? When we talk about strategic leadership, working smarter not harder refers to the concept of leverage. Leverage is the advantage resulting from using a lever set on a fulcrum to amplify the force applied to move a load a specific distance. 

In strategic leadership terms, leverage operates in a similar way. The distance we want a load to travel is represented by A-B. The lever is represented by a minimally viable product, or MVP. The fulcrum is represented by the concept of 0>1 and force by M=V/E. 

Zero is Greater Than One (0>1)Zero represents a problem before it fully manifests itself and one represents the same problem fully existing in all of its glory. When we are working at zero we are working in quadrant 2. Generally, preventing a problem before symptoms appear takes less effort than dealing with it after it has become a problem. Optionally, dealing with an issue when it first presents itself is easier than waiting until it has become entrenched or widespread.
 
As an element of leverage, zero is a fulcrum that is close to the load. As all four aspects of leverage work together, the fulcrum influences the other three parts in this way:

• It requires less effort to move a shorter distance (A-B) because there is not as much ground to cover.
• It allows us to use a simpler fulcrum (MVP) because we have more mechanical advantage early on.
• It increases motivation because it requires less effort.

 
Tomorrow we’ll look more closely at moving A-B.

Do good and be well,

​Frederick