BUSINESS TIP: SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO BREAK YOUR OWN RULES

RICO PIERONI ON BUSINESS ADAPTABILITY: BENDING RULES FOR SUCCESS

In September 2018, I found myself in Switzerland preparing to run the Jungfrau Marathon, one of the most demanding and visually striking races in the world.

I wasn’t there to prove anything to anyone but myself. I wasn’t chasing a personal record, and I certainly wasn’t feeling invincible. In fact, I was about to run the race while recovering from flu symptoms, in poor weather conditions, and with the very real knowledge that the Alps don’t care how well prepared you think you are.

The Jungfrau Marathon is not a “normal” marathon. It’s one of the hardest and most beautiful races in the world, starting on relatively flat ground and finishing high in the Alps, climbing thousands of metres through mountains, thin air, changing weather, and terrain that constantly forces you to adapt. You don’t just run it. You negotiate with it.

I went into that race with experience, preparation, and structure, but also with a clear awareness that no amount of planning survives contact with reality unchanged. That lesson has stayed with me far longer than the medal.

THE RULES THAT KEEP YOU SAFE, AND THE ONES THAT HOLD YOU BACK

THE TWO OPPOSITE RULES THAT ALMOST BROKE ME

I’ve always been someone who values rules. Rules matter. They’re not the enemy. In running, especially when doing several marathons, rules keep you from blowing up early, from pushing too hard, from ignoring your body when it starts giving you signals. In business and investing, rules protect you from emotion, from impulse, from chasing shiny things that look good on paper but collapse under pressure.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth I’ve learned, both on mountains and in business: Sometimes the rule that got you this far is the rule you need to bend next.

In my life as an ultra-runner and an investor, I have always lived by two simple rules for every race: You don’t stop, and you don’t walk.

These rules were designed to push me through the “extra mile” when most people would quit. But as I stood in the rain in Bern, facing chest pain and difficulty breathing, I realized these rules had become “standards”, and standards can be destructive. When a rule becomes a standard, it creates a binary of “right vs. wrong.” If I walked, I wasn’t just adjusting; in my mind, I was failing.

The Lesson: Rules should be a guide, not a cage. If you don’t do things exactly the way you planned, it doesn’t mean you aren’t doing them well.

BENDING THE RULES IN PROPERTY INVESTMENT

I’ve applied this same “informed flexibility” to my career as a property investor and owner of a UK property sourcing company. People often confuse discipline with rigidity, but true intelligence in business is knowing when the environment has shifted.

For example, I once managed a refurbishment project for one of my best HMOs where I intentionally broke almost every “initial risk” rule I had. On paper, the risk looked too high for a standard client suggestion. However, my experience told me that the potential reward outweighed the technical breach of my own framework.

Because I was willing to bend my own rules, that investment became one of my most successful assets. In business, just like in the Alps, there are unlimited ways to reach “number 10”, it doesn’t always have to be 5 + 5.

ADAPTATION IS NOT FAILURE, IT’S EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Breaking a rule isn’t the same as abandoning discipline. The Jungfrau Marathon taught me that success isn’t about perfect adherence to a plan; it’s about respect for reality.

Progress Over Perfection: I finished that marathon despite the flu because I allowed myself to walk when my body demanded it.

Standards vs. Reality: If I had stuck rigidly to “no walking,” I likely would have collapsed or failed to finish at all.

The “Done” Mindset: In property, a “done” deal that is 90% of what you imagined is often better than a “perfect” deal that never closes because you were too rigid to adapt.

People often confuse discipline with rigidity. They think being “serious” means never changing your mind, never adjusting your strategy, never questioning your own framework. In reality, that’s how people get stuck.

That’s exactly how I think about business and property investment.Markets change. Regulation changes. Cities evolve. Your personal circumstances change. If you’re still applying rules that were designed for a different environment, you’re not disciplined, you’re just outdated.

EXPERIENCE TEACHES YOU WHICH RULES ARE FLEXIBLE

One of the reasons I’m comfortable breaking my own rules when needed is because I didn’t learn them from a book. I learned them by doing.

In the Jungfrau Marathon, experience tells you the difference between discomfort you can push through and pain you should respect. On paper, both feel similar. In reality, they are worlds apart. It’s the same in property and business.

From the outside, two deals might look identical. Same numbers. Same yields. Same area. But lived experience tells you when one of them has hidden friction that will cost you time, energy, or sleep later on.

That kind of judgement doesn’t come from spreadsheets alone. It comes from having been wrong before, from having adapted mid-course, and from finishing things the hard way at least once.

WHY THIS MATTERS MORE THAN MOTIVATION

This isn’t about “pushing harder” or “never quitting”.

Sometimes breaking your own rule means slowing down. Sometimes it means walking a section of the mountain so you can finish stronger. Sometimes it means saying no to a deal that technically fits your criteria but feels wrong given the wider context.

The Jungfrau Marathon taught me that success isn’t about perfect adherence to a plan. It’s about knowing when the plan needs to evolve.

In business, that’s the difference between people who survive long-term and people who burn out, stagnate, or disappear quietly.

THE REAL LESSON I TOOK HOME

Crossing the finish line in the Alps was a test and about respect. Respect for preparation, but also respect for reality.

I still value structure, I still use frameworks and I still believe in rules. But I no longer confuse those things with wisdom.

Sometimes the most intelligent decision you can make is to recognise that some certain rules you’re following was designed for a different mountain, and then adjust your footing accordingly. Knowing when to hold your line, and when to break it -consciously, calmly, and for the right reasons – is where real judgement lives.

Whether it’s running through the Swiss Alps, building a business, run a property sourcing business like myself, or making any long-term investment and personal decisions, progress rarely comes from blind consistency, but from informed flexibility.

Sometimes, the most “disciplined” thing you can do is have the courage to break your own rules and have fun with the process