3 mates - Lionel, a gynaecologist with a passion for baking , Paul, an author and Zionist living in Israel and Ivan (me) an accountant and connector
I’ve been watching my friend Lionel Steinberg bake on Facebook for years creating masterpieces with nothing special
Just flour, eggs, sugar.
But what struck me was how… deliberate everything was.
Measured ingredients.
Precise timing.
Steps followed in order.
You couldn’t rush it.
You couldn’t skip steps.
You couldn’t “wing it.”
If you did… the cake failed.
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As you might know - my passion is business - observing and if I’m lucky , getting involved with organisations watching them implement strategies and scale.
And now , watching the war in the Middle East unfold —observing how wars are won, how leaders think and how strategies unfold.
That’s when it clicked.
Baking a cake. Winning a war. Building a business.
They’re all the same game.
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The Moment It Hit Me
In business, I kept seeing the same pattern:
Smart people.
Great ideas.
Plenty of opportunity.
And yet… why are people not successful ?
Not because of a lack of talent.
But because they were skipping the fundamentals
It’s like:
• Throwing ingredients into a bowl and hoping for a cake
• Sending soldiers into battle without a plan
And then wondering why it failed.
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The Framework That Is A Game Changer
Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
Everything—whether it’s a cake, a war, or a business—follows the same structure.
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1. Purpose — Why This Exists
The cake is for someone.
The war is for protection.
The business is for impact.
Without purpose, you’re just moving.
Not progressing.
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2. Vision — Seeing It Before It Exists
The baker sees the finished cake.
The general sees victory.
The founder sees scale.
If you can’t clearly picture the end…
You’ll never build it.
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3. Strategy — How You Win
This is where most people fall apart.
They confuse activity with strategy.
But strategy is about choice.
• What you do
• And what you don’t do
In baking, it’s the recipe.
In war, it’s positioning.
In business, it’s your market and model.
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4. Planning — Making It Real
Ingredients. Tools. Timing.
Troops. Logistics. Intelligence.
People. Systems. Capital.
Without a plan, everything stays theoretical.
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5. Execution — Where It Actually Happens
This is the hard part.
Mixing. Baking. Adjusting.
Deploying. Reacting. Adapting.
Selling. Building. Delivering.
Big visions don’t fail because they’re wrong.
They fail because execution is inconsistent.
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6. Measurement — The Truth Teller
You taste the cake.
You assess the battlefield.
You track the numbers.
Feedback isn’t optional.
It’s everything.
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7. Momentum — The Hidden Multiplier
When the cake works—you celebrate.
When you win a battle—you lift morale.
When the business grows—you recognise it. You celebrate wins
Momentum compounds faster than strategy.
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8. Reset — The Infinite Loop
Then you do it again.
Better. Faster. Smarter.
Because success isn’t an event.
It’s a system.
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The Brutal Realisation
Most people don’t fail because they’re not capable.
They fail because:
• They skip steps
• They chase shortcuts
• They avoid discipline
They want the outcome…
Without respecting the process.
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The Modern Layer: Why This Matters More Than Ever
Here’s what’s changed.
In today’s world:
• The best product doesn’t always win
• The smartest person doesn’t always win
The best distributed idea wins.
You can bake the perfect cake…
But if no one sees it, it doesn’t matter.
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Where This Connects to Referron
This is exactly why I’ve been so focused on building Referron.
Because in business today:
It’s not just about what you build.
It’s about how it spreads.
Who shares it.
Who refers it.
Who opens doors for you.
Your network isn’t just important anymore.
It’s everything.
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Final Thought
That moment watching Lionel in the kitchen changed how I see business, and my friend Paul in Israel
Success isn’t random.
It’s not luck.
It’s not even brilliance.
It’s:
Clarity → Strategy → Execution → Measurement → Adaptation → Repeat
Whether you’re baking…
Fighting…
Or building…
The rules don’t change.
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Call to Action
If you’re building something right now, ask yourself:
👉 Where am I skipping the process?
👉 Where am I relying on hope instead of structure?
Because that’s usually where things break.
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💬 Curious—what do you think most people skip?
Purpose / Strategy / Execution / Discipline
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