TL;DR: Stop treating your business like a list of tasks. To build something that lasts, focus on four things: delighting customers, not just satisfying them; embracing the intense beauty of the early grind; making time to work on your business, not just in it; and defining a simple, powerful purpose that guides every decision.
You know the feeling. It’s that constant, low-grade hum of urgency. The scramble. An endless flood of emails, notifications, and tasks that all feel critical. You’re busy, incredibly busy, but are you actually moving forward? Or just running faster on a hamster wheel of your own creation?
This is the founder’s trap. We get so caught up in the day-to-day work—the doing—that we lose sight of the vision that sparked the fire in the first place. We start working in the business, forgetting to work on it.
But what if you had a compass? A simple set of guiding principles to anchor you in the chaos, ensuring every action you take is intentional, aligned, and true to your original vision. Drawing on timeless advice from legendary builders like Warren Buffett and Jack Dorsey, we’ve distilled the noise into four unbreakable principles for building a business with soul, a business that lasts.
Principle 1: Beyond Satisfaction: The Art of Delight
Warren Buffett once said, “Never stop thinking about how to delight your customer. Not to satisfy your customer, but to delight your customer.”
This distinction is everything.
Satisfaction is transactional. It’s the baseline. The customer paid for a service, and they received it. The box is checked. Delight, however, is relational. It’s the unexpected note in the package, the Loom video that walks you through a complex step you didn’t even have to ask about, the proactive check-in that shows you were on their mind. It’s the moment a customer feels seen, not just served.
At UNQA, we see this as the essence of Quality. True quality isn’t just a flawless product; it’s the quality of the experience and the relationship. Businesses built on delight create a gravitational pull that no amount of marketing spend can replicate. As Buffett said, “No company’s ever failed that had millions of delighted customers.”
How to Apply It: Look at every touchpoint in your customer journey. Where can you inject a moment of unexpected care, humanity, or joy? How can you make your service feel less like a transaction and more like a genuine connection?
Principle 2: The Beautiful Grind: Embrace the Beginning
Michael Bloomberg’s advice to new entrepreneurs is refreshingly counter-intuitive. He says, “You’re never going to be happier and more satisfied than you are in the first year or so of getting your business going.”
In an era that glorifies scale and hockey-stick growth, this is a radical call to presence. The beginning—when you’re the CEO, the janitor, and the barista—is not just a phase to “get through.” It’s the period of purest connection to your work, your mission, and your first clients. It’s when the work ethic and culture of your entire company are forged in the fire of your own effort.
This embodies our principle of Naturalness. A tree doesn’t start with a hundred branches; it starts as a seed, with all its energy focused on putting down roots. The early grind is your rooting process. To rush it is to build something shallow and unstable. To embrace it is to build a foundation that can weather any storm.
How to Apply It: If you’re in the early stages, reframe the struggle. See the long hours and the endless hats you wear not as a burden, but as the peak of your engagement and the source of your future strength.
Principle 3: The Power of Stillness: Working On Your Business
There’s a fundamental difference between being the lead technician in your business and being its architect. Many founders get stuck in the former.
The daily grind is seductive. It provides a constant sense of accomplishment. But as Michael E. Porter advises, you must also “think about your business, what your plans are, what you want to do next.”
This requires creating space. It means scheduling sacred, untouchable time in your calendar to zoom out, to ask the big questions, to strategize. This strategic stillness is where you prevent burnout, spot opportunities, and ensure the ship is pointed in the right direction. It’s the most productive work you can do, even though it doesn’t feel like “work” at all.
How to Apply It: Block 2-3 hours on your calendar every single week. Label it “Strategic Thinking” or “CEO Time.” Protect it fiercely. Use this time to review your goals, question your assumptions, and dream about the future.
Principle 4: The North Star: Your Simple, Driving Purpose
“Work hard to clarify your purpose for the business,” says Jack Dorsey, “and be able to articulate it in a simple sentence.”
Why? Because passion can’t be taught, but it can be attracted. A clear, simple purpose is a magnet for the right people—both team members and clients. It’s the North Star that guides every product decision, every marketing campaign, and every hire. When you know why you exist, the what and how become infinitely clearer.
A clear strategy, as Michael Porter notes, is “more powerful than just running around scrambling harder.” This North Star is the source of that power. It’s the ultimate expression of your company’s Uniqueness. It’s not just what you do; it’s why it matters.
How to Apply It: Can you state your company’s purpose in a single, compelling sentence? Does it excite you? Would it attract the kind of people you want to work with? If not, keep refining. It’s the most important sentence you will ever write.
From Scrambling to Sailing
These four principles aren’t a checklist; they are a compass. They won’t solve every problem, but they will ensure you are building a business that is resilient, meaningful, and true to you. They shift the focus from chaotic motion to intentional direction.
Feeling pulled in a million directions? Maybe it’s time to find your compass.
If you’re ready to move from scrambling to strategy, let’s talk. We help founders and business owners build the clarity and systems they need to grow with intention. Book a free discovery call with us today.