Speaking Franklin

In addition to reading, Franklin seemed to benefit a great deal from playing board games that encouraged the development of strategic thinking. Late in his life he wrote a reflection, The Morals of Chess, on the lessons he learned from playing chess. In that brief essay, Franklin describes life as a sort of chess game in which rational thinking and experience pay big dividends. He discusses three lessons he had learned from playing chess and applies them to daily life and business activity.

His first lesson is foresight. That is, you are more likely to succeed in life and in business if you take time to consider both your own future activities as well as the future activities of your competitors. Even if your foresight is inaccurate, those who attempt it are more likely to survive and succeed than those who don't. A second lesson is that of caution. Both in chess and in life there are moves you make that you can't go back on. A little caution might save you from a lot of regret when choosing business partners, suppliers or workers. He called the final lesson circumspection. Circumspection simply means that you should consider the big picture before you make your move. Franklin suggests that it pays to look beyond your own narrow interests and consider other variables, like your competitor's interests or how the legal environment might influence your activities.

This article was originally published in the May 2000 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Speaking Franklin.