Lessons for Startups from the Iraq War

Today, the US government officially announced the end of their 11-year Iraq war, leaving the country in not exactly a war and not exactly peace (http://tinyurl.com/834tp56). Like most things in life, after judging, criticizing and reconciling, I thought: Hey wait a minute, this is something every entrepreneur can learn from. Voila!

1. When you have a $14 trillion debt, and domestic issues at home (99% vs 1%), you know its time to shut down your shop.
2. When something doesn’t work for 11 years, you should’ve pivoted 9 years back.
3. Ask yourself why you’d be right for the role? Your father having led the Gulf war doesn’t make you competent for this one.
4. While doing your due diligence, try not to go wrong in finding WMDs.
5. Manage finances efficiently. Implementing tax cuts while financing your war is slow bleeding. Especially when your banker is China.

1. Leverage minor goals from press release and publicity in finding collaborators and partners, especially when your minor goal was executing Saddam Hussein.
2. Know your market well. If you have no idea how to deal with the culture and system of an alien land without having past diplomatic ties, don’t tread into it – avoid the suicide quadrant (new product new market)
3. Define your goals clearly and objectively. “Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves Iraqis and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children (Bush 2002)” is not a goal.
4. Make a better Exit Strategy than the way you ran your startup. Chances are that you’re in the process of creating some enemies (remember Afghanistan?).
5. And finally, if you are doing what you are doing for a $2 trillion oil reserve, ignore the above 9 points and carry on. I wont judge you.

"They misunderestimated me."

- George Bush, Nov. 6, 2000