“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
~ Benjamin Franklin
These ancient words hold even in today’s world of great transparency, clarity, and intelligence.
Why?
Because, by design, business means the creation of value, and the creation of value in today’s age has become easier if you have access to information.
Especially for digital businesses, it is easy for people to “copy” your value creation process because of the nature of the digital.
That is why you will see people talking about transparency and clarity, insisting others sign NDA and have private discussion areas.
Sometimes the secret is your way of “seeing” the world.
Sometimes the secret is a proprietary algorithm.
Sometimes the secret is your use of empathy as a tool.
Sometimes the secret is your boring niche.
When investing in a business, I look for founders (and their second-line leaders if they have them) who know the secret of their fire and their business and when that will be no longer a secret!
This clarity can make or tank a business.
