Those Who Achieve Great Things Are a Beat Slow

The Wang clan of Langya summed up the secret of its success like this: speak and act half a beat slower than everyone else.

This may seem to go against common sense, since we're always told that the early bird gets the worm. But the Wang clan of Langya drew on a thousand years of wisdom and hard-earned lessons to teach us that those who accomplish great things should move half a beat slower. The protagonist of this book, Wang Dao, the architect of the saying “The realm is shared by the Wang and Ma clans,” is a man of patience. When challenged by powerful clans such as the Sima family and the Yu clan of Yingchuan, he lets those who insist on acting first make the mistakes, then learns from their failures and reduces the cost of his own missteps. In the end, this “half a beat slower” wisdom allowed him to overcome everyone of his era and turn the Wang clan of Langya into an aristocratic house that overshadowed imperial power and controlled the realm from behind the scenes.

For small gains and minor achievements, it may pay to act first. But when building something great, a legacy meant to last a century, it doesn't hurt to move half a beat slower.