Your roadmap through the Institute’s 12 foundational chapters and 50 timeless business Rules.
Every visiting executive and entrepreneur can explore and study each Chapter, 1-12, for FREE and follow The Weekly Edge on our LinkedIn Page. However, to unlock the full depth of the individual Rule pages, including Member Insights and experiences, book summaries, Author links, leadership team discussions, workshops and more β youβll need to become a paid Member of The Institute at $100/yr.
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The Weekly Edge
*Chapters 1-12 are open to all users, individual Rules 1-50 are Members only content. Visit Rule No. 1: Solve a Real Problem, the only publicly available rule, as a preview of the insight, impact and opportunity inside each of the 50 Rules.
- Chapter 1: Foundations First
- WEEK 1β Rule No. 1: Solve a real problem.
- Recommended Reading: The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries
- WEEK 2β Rule No. 2: Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.
- Recommended Reading: The Mom Test, by Rob Fitzpatrick
- WEEK 3β Rule No. 6: Your first idea is rarely your best.
- Recommended Reading: Originals, by Adam Grant
- WEEK 4βΒ Rule No. 10:Β Never stop learning.
- Recommended Reading: Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
- WEEK 5β Rule No. 15: Work on the business, not just in it.
- Recommended Reading: The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael E. Gerber

- Chapter 2: Know Your Customer
- WEEK 6β Rule No.11: Your Brand is Your Promise
- Recommended Reading: Building Strong Brands, by David A. Aaker
- WEEK 7β Rule No.12: Know Your Customer Deeply
- Recommended Reading: Know Your Customer, by Robert B. Woodruff and Sarah F. Gardial
- WEEK 8β Rule No.18: Your Calendar Reflects Your Priorities
- Recommended Reading: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, By Stephen R. Covey
- WEEK 9β Rule No.21: Clarity Creates Confidence
- Recommended Reading: Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

- Chapter 3: Hiring Without Regret
- WEEK 10β Rule No. 22: Hire slow, fire fast.
- Recommended Reading: Who, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
- WEEK 11β Rule No. 24: Own your mistakes.
- Recommended Reading: Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
- WEEK 12β Rule No. 31: Delegate outcomes, not tasks.
- Recommended Reading: Turn the Ship Around!, by L. David Marquet
- WEEK 13β Rule No. 49: People over processes.
- Recommended Reading: The Human Side of Enterprise, by Douglas McGregor

- Chapter 4: Strategy In the Real World
- WEEK 14β Rule No. 3: Differentiate or die.
- Recommended Reading: Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
- WEEK 15β Rule No. 4: Play the long game.
- Recommended Reading: The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek
- WEEK 16β Rule No. 5: Make fewer, bolder moves.
- Recommended Reading: Playing To Win, by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin
- WEEK 17β Rule No. 25: Ask better questions.
- Recommended Reading: A More Beautiful Question, by Warren Berger
- WEEK 18β Rule No. 26: Define it. Measure it. Achieve it.
- Recommended Reading: Measure What Matters, by John Doerr

- Chapter 5: Execution Beats Ideas
- WEEK 19β Rule No. 7: Momentum beats motivation.
- Recommended Reading: The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
- WEEK 20β Rule No. 8: Donβt mistake movement for progress.
- Recommended Reading: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, By Greg McKeown
- WEEK 21β Rule No. 9: Focus beats multitasking.
- Recommended Reading: The One Thing, by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
- WEEK 22β Rule No. 27: Do the hard things first.
- Recommended Reading: Eat That Frog!, by Brian Tracy
- WEEK 23β Rule No. 28: Learn by doing.
- Recommended Reading: The Art of Learning, by Josh Waitzkin

- Chapter 6: Hard Conversations. Hard Decisions
- WEEK 24 β Rule No. 14: Know when to let go.
- Recommended Reading: Necessary Endings, by Dr. Henry Cloud
- WEEK 25β Rule No. 19: Stop doing what doesnβt work.
- Recommended Reading: What Got You Here, Wonβt Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith
- WEEK 26β Rule No. 42: Feedback is a gift.
- Recommended Reading: Thanks For The Feedback, by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
- WEEK 27β Rule No. 50: If youβre going to eat shit, donβt nibble.
- Recommended Reading: The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz

- Chapter 7: Systems That Scale
- WEEK 28β Rule No. 23: Simplicity scales.
- Recommended Reading: Simple Rules, by Donald Sull and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt
- WEEK 29β Rule No. 32: Donβt scale chaos.
- Recommended Reading: Scaling Up, by Verne Harnish and the team at Gazelles
- WEEK 30β Rule No. 36: Build a business that runs without you.
- Recommended Reading: Built To Sell, by John Warrillow
- WEEK 31β Rule No. 33: Processes protect your time.
- Recommended Reading: The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande

- Chapter 8: Salesβthe Lifeblood
- WEEK 32β Rule No. 13: Know your numbers.
- Recommended Reading: Financial Intelligence, by Karen Berman and Joe Knight
- WEEK 33β Rule No. 20: Cash flow is king.
- Recommended Reading: Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!, by Greg Crabtree
- WEEK 34β Rule No. 38: Build once, sell forever.
- Recommended Reading: The Automatic Customer, by John Warrillow
- WEEK 35β Rule No. 40: Sell the vision, not just the product.
- Recommended Reading: Start With Why, by Simon Sinek

- Chapter 9: Culture You Can Count On
- WEEK 36β Rule No. 34: Great businesses outlive great products.
- Recommended Reading: Built To Last, by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras
- WEEK 37β Rule No. 35: Raise the bar, then raise it again.
- Recommended Reading: Good To Great, by Jim Collins
- WEEK 38β Rule No. 46: Donβt outgrow your values.
- Recommended Reading: The Advantage, by Patrick Lencioni

- Chapter 10: Leadership That Lasts
- WEEK 39β Rule No. 16: Time is your most precious asset.
- Recommended Reading: The Time Trap, by Alec Mackenzie
- WEEK 40β Rule No. 17: Speed Matters.
- Recommended Reading: Fail Fast, Fail Often, by Ryan Babineaux, Ph.D. and John Krumboltz, Ph. D.
- WEEK 41β Rule No. 29: Protect your downside.
- Recommended Reading: Rich Dadβs Guide To Investing, by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- WEEK 42β Rule No. 39: Your network is your net worth.
- Recommended Reading: Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi

- Chapter 11: Avoiding the Common Pitfalls
- WEEK 43β Rule No. 30: Profit is not a dirty word.
- Recommended Reading: Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz
- WEEK 44β Rule No. 47: The bottleneck is at the top.
- Recommended Reading: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
- WEEK 45β Rule No. 41: Reputation compounds.
- Recommended Reading: The Reputation Economy, by Michael Fertik and David Thompson
- WEEK 46β Rule No. 44: Own your edge.
- Recommended Reading: Purple Cow, by Seth Godin

- Chapter 12: Reflection and Recommittment
- WEEK 47β Rule No. 37: Build trust before selling.
- Recommended Reading: The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M. R. Covey
- WEEK 48β Rule No. 43: Run your race.
- Recommended Reading: Canβt Hurt Me, by David Goggins
- WEEK 49β Rule No. 45: Protect your mental bandwidth.
- Recommended Reading: Deep Work, by Cal Newport
- WEEK 50β Rule No. 48: Give more than you take.
- Recommended Reading: The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann

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