Leverage II

strategic leverage arises from a mixture of anticipation, insight into what is most pivotal or critical in a situation

Knock loose a keystone, and a giant will fall. Seize the moment, as James Madison did in 1787, turning colleague Edmund Randolph's ideas about three branches of government with a bicameral legislature into the first draft of the Constitution, and you just might found a great nation.

When the largest computer company in the world comes knocking at your door in 1980 asking if you can provide an operating system for a new personal computer, say, "Yes, we can!"  And be sure to insist, as Bill Gates did in 1980, that, after they pay you for the software, the contract still permits you to sell it to third parties.  You just might become the richest person in the world.

ACTION POINT: In general, strategic leverage arises from a mixture of anticipation, insight into what is most pivotal or critical in a situation, and making a concentrated application of effort.