Business is War. Business is Baking a Cake. And I learned this in the most unexpected way

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

4. Planning — Making It Real

Ingredients. Tools. Timing.

Troops. Logistics. Intelligence.

People. Systems. Capital.

Without a plan, everything stays theoretical.

⸻

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.

⸻

6. Measurement — The Truth Teller

You taste the cake.

You assess the battlefield.

You track the numbers.

Feedback isn’t optional.

It’s everything.

⸻

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.

⸻

8. Reset — The Infinite Loop

Then you do it again.

Better. Faster. Smarter.

Because success isn’t an event.

It’s a system.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

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.

⸻

💬 Curious—what do you think most people skip?

Purpose / Strategy / Execution / Discipline

⸻