Let's Talk About Business Fundamentals
By Dan Tyre | Last updated: June 2026
TL;DR: After four decades in business, four principles keep showing up as successful attributes of success who dodge potholes and entrepreneurs who don't: work backward from a clearly defined goal, write the plan down to stress-test the logic, give the project a cool code name to build momentum, and lead with a one-page plan with real numbers. None of it is complicated. That's the point.
After four glorious decades of grinding through the business world — working in multiple industries and a wide range of companies, from raw startups (zero revenue) to Fortune 50 companies ($70B annual revenue) — there are some basic business concepts I routinely share that seem to help entrepreneurs dodge a lot of potholes and solve more problems.
I call this Tyre Wisdom. Most of it isn't particularly original content — just a solid reminder that these guidelines apply to nearly every business size and scale. Let me know if they resonate with you and your experience.
Start with the goal and work backwards
If you don't know the end state of the problem in tangible terms, it's nearly impossible to devise a plan to achieve it. It sounds simple, but the effectiveness comes from how it shifts your mindset.
It forces clarity of purpose: starting with the end goal makes you define exactly what success looks like. Without that, it's easy to mistake "being busy" for "making progress."
It drives resource efficiency: when you work backward, you identify only the steps strictly necessary to reach the goal — cutting out nice-to-haves that don't actually move the needle.
And it creates logical sequencing: a clear chain of causality. To get to D, you must have C. To get C, you need B. That makes the very first step — A — much more obvious.
If it isn't written, it doesn't exist
Moving an idea from your head to a structured document is a critical exercise in stress-testing logic.
If it's not worth writing out, it's probably not a priority. Writing a one-pager exposes logic gaps — your brain glosses over difficult details like customer acquisition costs or supply chain dependencies, but paper doesn't. It forces you to articulate exactly how Point A leads to Point B. If you can't explain the path on paper, you likely can't execute it in reality.
And it keeps everyone — advisors, executives, employees, partners — working toward the same objective with the same vocabulary. It prevents vision drift. Because entrepreneurs are delusionally optimistic about almost everything, writing helps ground the idea in reality.
When faced with a difficult pivot or a sudden market shift, you can refer back to your original assumptions and see which ones still hold true. It helps you make decisions based on data rather than gut feeling alone.
I've leaned on this same principle for my own goals for four decades. If you want the personal-side version of this habit, I wrote about it in What I Learned From 40 Years of Writing Everything Down.
Always have a cool code name for your project
No one wants to work for Project Excellence or Project 45. Everyone wants to work for Wildcat or Panther or Spidermonkey or Fire Ant. Cool code names — especially animal code names — are the best.
Start with a one-page plan with numbers
Lead with a monthly or quarterly revenue forecast. Incorporating revenue and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) lets you calculate gross margin, while a clear projection of expenses rounds out the picture.
Placing the financial forecast at the top — right after the executive summary — gives you operational visibility into the project's ramp and timeline, defines the capital and human investment required, and illustrates the milestones needed to achieve economies of scale. When a leader or advisor can see the economics upfront, they can accurately assess priority and effort.
These aren't complicated. That's the point.
Want more like this? Sign up for the monthly newsletter and get insights, lessons, and community updates delivered straight to your inbox — before they hit anywhere else.
