How ‘Take What’s Given’ Works in Business

Extended hands on black backgroundDon’t ignore the opportunities right in front of you.

By Bill Reeb

In the practice of martial arts, the concept of “take what’s given” is drilled in to teach us to respond to what our opponent is offering rather than either following some mental plan we have conjured up or overrelying on our strengths.

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When you have an unfamiliar opponent, both a mental plan and leveraging strengths require information you don’t have to dependably work. In other words, those two options presume superiority; that I know my strengths are greater or that my plan has all the necessary contingencies to appropriately react to the actions and reactions of my opponent. How could you have this level of knowledge or insight about an unknown opponent?