Book Review: Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David with Greg Dinkin.

Your Next Five Moves

A fair disclaimer. 

This is not a proper book review. Just a shoutout to the book, “Your Next Five Moves,” which I personally enjoyed, along with a list of my favorite learnings from it.All quotes in the review below are excerpts from “Your Next Five Moves.”Please note: my review reflects only the content of this book. I do not endorse the author’s business activities or political views. 

At least in India, most of us 9-to-5ers think about starting our own business, especially when the quarter-life crisis hits us in the gut. On a funny note, do you even qualify as an Indian youngster if you haven’t dreamt of opening a tea shop selling Indian tea and snacks in a foreign country and quitting your highly stressful IT career? 

Some of us even take the bold step of starting our own small businesses, such as bakeries, online clothes stores, or event planning companies. While one in a hundred actually gives their dreams a chance, many articles circulating online claim that barely one in a thousand turns it into a successful venture. 

While the credibility of such sources and the statistics on which their sweeping observations are based are debatable, one thing remains clear. The failure rates of business ventures are high, and so is the probability of incurring financial losses. But reality rarely stops the brave dreamers from forging their own path and pushing through difficult times, right? 

In my twenties, my old roommate and I used to dream about starting a quaint bookshop-cum-pastry-cafe. Of course, I was supposed to take care of the bookshop, and she was meant to be the pastry chef. Cut to the thirties, safe to say that our combined dream will never materialize. But I still hold onto the dream of having a bookshop or online store someday. What’s life without dreams?

As someone with negligible business experience, a few worries that plague my mind when I think about starting a business are:

What business will I start? Or specifically, what product or service will I sell? Will I be able to turn my business into a profitable venture? Or will I drown in debts?Do I have the knowledge, skills, and expertise to start a business?Do I have the money to start a business?Do I have the right mindset and people to start a business? 

If you’re an experienced entrepreneur or someone who is only looking for the answer to the first four questions, then this book may not be the right choice for you. But if you’re a newbie or wannabe entrepreneur who is trying hard to build the right mindset to start and nurture a business, this book could be a treasure trove for you.

The subtitle of the book, “Your Next Five Moves,” says “Master the Art of Business Strategy.” Though it claims to be a Business Strategy book, my humble opinion is that this book is more self-help than business strategy. 

The book is divided into five sections, each discussing the mastery of a different area, namely:

Knowing YourselfThe Ability to ReasonBuilding the Right TeamStrategy to ScalePowerplays 

Here are my three key takeaways from the book.

The key idea of the book: “Think Five Moves Ahead.”

“People who don’t think more than one move ahead are driven by ego, emotion, and fear.”

As children, at school or in our families, we were often taught to think about our future and to have a positive attitude towards life. However, at least in India, our upbringing and educational system often fail to equip us for real lives. 

Sure, most of us learn how to pass school exams with high scores, crack highly competitive entrance exams to prestigious colleges, and secure a high-paying job. But what do we do when we fail an exam, when we don’t crack that IIT or UPSC exam, or don’t secure a job after college? 

What do we do when our best friend suddenly stops talking to us or misunderstands us unfairly? What do we do when the person we believe to be the love of our life rejects our proposal and marries another person? What do we do when we can’t handle the stress and anxiety at our job, or when our dream business venture fails?

No one teaches us how to handle failures, disappointments, relationship issues, heartbreaks, financial losses, depression, or anxiety. We all learn it the hard way. 

The author advises us to always think five moves ahead in life, no matter what decision we’re making or what crossroads we’re at. While we think five moves ahead, like a chess player, we also need to include the failure scenarios. 

“Why only five moves ahead? Five moves is the sweet spot of thoughtful strategy and swift action. Thinking too many moves ahead can lead to paralysis by analysis. Five moves is enough to make sure you are anticipating future outcomes and seeing moves and countermoves.”

Let’s consider a simple example. Suppose I buy a lottery ticket. Of course, I must have a concrete plan on how I will spend or invest the money if I win it. But what’s my plan if I don’t win that lottery, or if I win a meagre amount that’s insufficient to fulfill my ultimate dreams? Then what course of action will I take? Should I stay at my 9-5 job, start a side hustle, and only occasionally put my hopes on lotteries again, or should I stop buying lotteries forever? 

2. “Alignment Is the Key to Fulfilment.”

Your vision must align with who you want to be.Your choices must align with your vision.Your effort must align with the size of your vision.Your behavior must align with your values and principles.

Are you chasing a dream, a goal, a career, or a relationship that is not in alignment with who you are as a person? In order to succeed, fit in, or become famous, are you making choices that contradict your values and principles? 

Are you truly happy? Or are you constantly feeling angry, irritated, envious, or unhappy?  

Is the effort you are putting into achieving your goals matching the grandiosity of the vision you’ve set for yourself? With the current efforts, will you be able to complete your goals within the deadlines you’ve set for yourself? 

Or is your dream and its deadline too unrealistic and grandiose that you need to lower your expectations to match it with your current efforts? Or should you increase your efforts and work ethic to meet or exceed your goals? 

These are some important questions we need to continuously ask ourselves to lead a fulfilling life, as well as to run a successful business that stands the test of time. 

“When you’re honest about who you are, you learn to stop wanting everything. Envy is an indicator that alerts you if you’re being honest with yourself. What it’s telling you is that you really do want it but are afraid to work for it. 

You’ll know you are living the best version of yourself when your reaction to the success of others, including those who have things you don’t have, is feeling happy for them. Again, if you feel envy, it’s an indicator that either you’re lying to yourself about what you want or you lack the discipline to accomplish it.”

3. “Four Levels of Trust.”

“The world of business is tough. People don’t always play fair. Some of them are flat-out crooks. Some have no problem telling you what you want to hear while doing the opposite. 

The onus is on you for allowing yourself to be hustled. You’re smarter than that. In fact, you should be able to figure out the level of trust you should have with anyone, be it customer, employee, business partner, or supplier.” 

The author advises us to categorize people according to four levels of trust:

StrangerEndorsed TrustedRunning Mate

Categorize people as “Strangers” when you have zero experience with them. Instinctively, they may seem trustworthy, charming, friendly, and even talk a good game. But don’t trust them until you know more about them. 

The “Endorsed” category is for individuals who arrive with a strong track record and positive recommendations from others. However, recommendations can be biased or even outright dishonest. Don’t label this category of people as “Trusted” until you’ve had personal experience with them, and they prove they are indeed trustworthy. 

Consider a person as “Trusted” only after you’ve witnessed their behaviour firsthand and found them consistently demonstrating loyalty, honesty, and reliability.  

“Running Mate” is the highest category of trust. We’re unlikely to find more than one individual who fits this description. This is the professional equivalent of a best friend/ life partner. That one person whom we can call whenever we are going through a problem, and their immediate response will be, “What can I do to help you?” The kind of person who will move mountains to assist you. 

In business, even if someone falls under the “Trusted” category, continue monitoring them. Because naivety is an expensive mistake, and your blind trust in someone could someday cost you your entire business.

There are so many more pearls of wisdom in this book, but it would be unfair to the author if I listed them all here. So I encourage all of you, especially my friends and readers who have entrepreneurial dreams, to read the full book.  Build that business you’ve been dreaming about, and may the knowledge in this book give you the leverage you need!

Author’s Notes

~ © 2025 Lirio Marchito. All rights reserved.

~ If you read the book, please let me know in the comments whether you enjoyed it and what your favorite takeaway was.