Strategy is usually a mess. Most people wake up, react to an email, grab a coffee, and then spend eight hours putting out fires they started yesterday. It's exhausting. Patrick Bet-David saw this chaos and realized that business isn't just a series of random events; it's a chess match. That is the core premise behind your next five moves. If you can't see past the immediate move in front of your face, you’re basically playing checkers while the world is playing Grandmaster-level chess around you.
I've watched people try to implement this. They read the book, they get fired up, and then they try to plan fifty moves ahead. That’s a mistake. You can't see fifty moves ahead. Nobody can. Not Musk, not Bezos, and certainly not a startup founder trying to make payroll in a garage. The magic happens in the five. It’s a specific, manageable depth that allows for both preparation and the flexibility to pivot when the market inevitably punches you in the mouth.
Why Self-Awareness Is the Move Zero Everyone Skips
Before you even get to your next five moves, you have to deal with the person in the mirror. Bet-David is big on this. He talks about "Mastering Knowing Yourself," which sounds like some New Age fluff until you realize it’s actually about brutal honesty regarding your ego and your capacity. Most business failures aren't due to bad math. They happen because the founder didn't know if they wanted to be a billionaire or just have a comfortable life with a boat.
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Think about it. If your goal is a $100 million exit, your move sequence looks entirely different than if you just want to run a lifestyle business that lets you play golf on Thursdays. You have to audit your "Productive Paranoia." High achievers like Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, lived by this. If you aren't slightly terrified of being disrupted, you’re already dying.
You need to ask: What do I actually want? Why do I want it? Who am I willing to become to get it? If you lie to yourself here, the next five moves will be built on a foundation of sand. It's like trying to program a GPS without a starting location. You'll just end up lost, but faster.
The Art of Processing Issues
Once you know who you are, you have to learn how to think. This is move two. In the framework of your next five moves, processing is about speed and accuracy. Most companies drown in "analysis paralysis." They have meetings about meetings.
Real strategists use a processing system. Bet-David suggests looking at every problem through the lens of:
- What is the issue?
- What are the solutions?
- What are the consequences of those solutions?
It’s about making decisions based on data, not just "gut feeling." While "trusting your gut" makes for a great LinkedIn post, it's a terrible way to scale a logistics company or a tech firm. You need a methodology. You need to be a "Processing Machine."
Building a Team That Doesn't Suck
Move three is all about the people. You can't do it alone. Even the most "solopreneur" focused influencers eventually hit a ceiling. To execute your next five moves, you need a team that shares your "Why" but challenges your "How."
There's a huge difference between a "mercenary" and a "missionary." Mercenaries are there for the check. They leave the second a better offer comes along. Missionaries believe in the vision. They stay when the server crashes at 3 AM on a Sunday. You need to identify who is who in your organization. If you’re surrounded by mercenaries, your fourth and fifth moves are going to be defensive, because you’ll be constantly replacing talent instead of growing.
Scaling and Strategy: The High-Stakes Game
This is where things get real. Move four is about scaling. It's about systems. It’s about making yourself redundant. If the business stops when you go on vacation, you don't have a business; you have a high-paying, stressful job.
Scaling requires you to identify your "Sequence." In the book Your Next Five Moves, Patrick emphasizes that doing the right thing at the wrong time is the same as doing the wrong thing. You don't buy a massive office space before you have a sales team. You don't hire a CFO before you have revenue to manage. Sequencing is everything.
Look at Netflix. Their move sequence was legendary.
- Mail-order DVDs (disrupting Blockbuster’s physical footprint).
- Streaming licensed content (building the user base).
- Producing original content (owning the IP).
- Global expansion.
- Entering gaming and ad-tiers.
If Netflix had tried to produce Stranger Things in 1998, they would have gone bankrupt in a month. They understood their next five moves. They stayed in sequence.
The Power Play: Staying One Step Ahead
The final move is about leverage and the "Power Play." This is where you manipulate the environment to your advantage. It involves branding, storytelling, and knowing how to handle "the monsters."
The business world is full of sharks. Some are obvious, like competitors trying to poach your clients. Others are subtle, like regulatory changes or shifts in consumer behavior. A power play isn't about being a bully. It's about positioning yourself so that you're the only logical choice in your market.
Bet-David often references his time in the insurance industry. He didn't just sell insurance; he sold a dream of entrepreneurship. That was his power play. He changed the narrative. While everyone else was talking about premiums and deductibles, he was talking about legacy and freedom.
Common Misconceptions About the 5-Move Framework
People think this is about being a psychic. It isn't. You don't need a crystal ball. You need a "Decision Tree."
Another big mistake? Thinking the moves are static. They aren't. Your next five moves should be written in pencil, not ink. If a global pandemic hits, or a competitor launches a revolutionary AI tool, you have to re-calculate. The framework provides the structure, but you provide the adaptability.
Some critics argue that this approach is too cold or calculated. Honestly, business is calculated. If you aren't calculating, you’re gambling. And the house always wins in the long run if you're just throwing chips at the table hoping for a lucky streak.
Actionable Steps to Determine Your Path
Don't just sit there and nod. If you want to actually use the logic of your next five moves, you have to do the work. Here is how you start, right now, today.
1. Conduct a Personal Audit
Write down your top three goals. Not the "I want to be rich" goals. The specific ones. Then, write down your three biggest weaknesses. If you can't be honest about where you suck, you can't plan around it.
2. Identify Your Current Move
What is the single most important thing you need to do this week to move the needle? Not the five things. The one thing. That is Move One.
3. Forecast the Reaction
For that Move One, what is the most likely "counter-move" from the market or your competition? If you launch a sale, will your rival drop their prices? If you hire a new lead, will your current team feel threatened? Plan for the reaction. That's Move Two.
4. Build a "War Room" Mentality
Stop treating your business like a hobby. Hobbyists wait for inspiration. Professionals follow a process. Set aside one hour every Sunday night to map out the sequence for the coming week.
5. Evaluate Your Inner Circle
Look at the five people you spend the most time with. Are they helping you see the next move, or are they distracting you from the game? This sounds harsh, but it's the reality of high-level strategy. You cannot win a championship with people who just want to participate in the halftime show.
Strategy is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Most people fail because they stop thinking after Move One. They hit a wall and they wonder why. The reason is usually simple: they didn't realize there was a Move Two, Three, Four, and Five waiting for them.
Start looking at your life and your business as a series of interconnected plays. Every action has a reaction. Every choice has a consequence. When you start thinking in sequences, the world starts to look a lot less like a chaotic mess and a lot more like a game you can actually win.
Go look at your "chess board" today. What's the play? What's the counter-play? Stop guessing and start moves. The clock is ticking, and it's your turn.