Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All: Summary & Key Insights

When we first coined the term '10X company,' it was not meant to be a catchy slogan—it was a measurable distinction. These are organizations that, during periods of turbulence and uncertainty, achieved results that were at least ten times greater than the industry average over the same time frame. We wanted clear, empirical evidence, not anecdotes. So we began with comparative pairs within the same industries—companies facing identical external conditions—one of which became a 10Xer, and the other didn’t.

You might expect 10Xers to be more daring, more visionary, or simply luckier. The reality is more nuanced. What set them apart was not the scale of their ambition or their access to resources, but the consistency of their behavior. They made decisions based on data and discipline, not impulses. Their leaders exhibited what we came to call Level 5 Ambition: an unwavering commitment to the company’s purpose beyond personal gain.

Think of Southwest Airlines, Intel, or Microsoft during their formative decades. Each operated amid fierce competition and technological disruption. Yet they all shared the same behavioral DNA: cautious empiricism, relentless discipline, and preparation for adversity. To be a 10X leader is not to sprint ahead in good weather and wait out the storms. It is to march deliberately through unpredictable terrain, ensuring that progress never stops, even when the wind turns against you.

Consider two explorers racing to reach the South Pole in 1911: Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen’s team marched roughly 20 miles every single day—no more, no less—regardless of conditions. Scott’s team alternated between frantic exertion and exhaustion, pushing too hard on good days and collapsing on bad ones. Amundsen’s team not only arrived first but returned alive. Scott’s perished.

The 20 Mile March is not about speed; it’s about consistency. For 10X companies, this concept represents disciplined performance—a commitment to measurable progress, year after year, regardless of economic weather. Southwest Airlines, for instance, maintained profitable consistency even through fuel crises and recessions. Its leaders didn’t expand recklessly in boom years nor cut recklessly in downturns.

This steady discipline builds confidence and a margin of safety. It keeps teams focused on what they can control instead of reacting emotionally to external chaos. In our research, every 10X company established clear 'marching bounds' defining how far they would push forward and how restrained they would be. They understood that greatness is built through consistency, not radical bursts of effort. The 20 Mile March is the antidote to both complacency and overreach—it teaches us to measure progress not by the magnitude of a single victory but by the durability of performance over time.