Checkmate in jiu-jitsu is called a submission — you force your opponent to give up, which they signal by tapping you or the ground. A submission happens because you are either causing one of your opponent’s limbs to go beyond its natural range of motion or choking them unconscious.

Your first job in jiu-jitsu is to not get submitted. You can’t win if you’re out of the game.

For small business, survival is often a question of cash flow. As businesses get larger, the dynamics may change, but you can’t have a successful business if you don’t stay in business.

One of the first things you learn in jiu-jitsu is “posture” — how to keep safe in bad positions.

Generally, we want to keep our assets – our limbs – close and try to prevent our opponent from having the opportunity to isolate and attack them. Before you move forward, you have to take a solid position which prevents your opponent from pushing you backward.

A business mentor once asked me what my business would look like if I trimmed monthly expenses by $10,000. I couldn’t even imagine – until I was forced to.

If some surprise required you to operate with a greatly reduced operating budget, could you? Do you know how to contract your operation to endure choppy waters?