Guru,
I actually liked that story lol. But let me ask you this question to continue this discussion.
You mentioned that one should: Begin with abstract (i.e., beliefs, motivations, psychology, etc.). Then proceed to concrete (modus operandi, planning, analysis, etc).
It's funny because I believe the opposite is true, I would begin with concrete concepts and from the development of such concrete concepts, I would naturally birth abstract aspects of motivation, belief, "purpose" and passion. What do I mean? Let me explain below.....
#1.) Social Science and Market Research Study
I believe every business venture begins with a full understanding of the Social Science related concepts that are related to such venture. This includes conducting full research and analysis over the Macro and Micro, the Political landscape (taxes, regulations, if there's a free market available, etc.), prior customer behavior, prospective customer behavior through monitoring changes in attitude, monitoring shifts in landscapes, completing primary market research, completing secondary market research, etc, etc. This is solid concrete concept development.
#2.) Innovation
From this study, which is what I refer to as MARKET RESEARCH, it allows you to determine what type of products, services, skills and competencies you need to bring to this market to fulfill the prospective upcoming (or current) demand. HERE, is where the abstract comes in, where your creativity and innovation is laid on the table to create products, services and solutions for said MARKET in a first mover or second mover strategy, to gain such market share and serve such market share better than competing options.
#3.) The Selfish Artist v.s. The Business Artist
It's the difference (in my opinion) between the selfish artist and the business artist. The selfish artist will sit down and create music, film, or other form of entertainment (art) based solely on what THEY "feel" like creating.
Where as the business artist will not sit down to create anything until AFTER they have researched and identified a particular target market that they will decide to cater to, and once that's identified, THEN their "abstract" comes to the table in terms of creating the "art" that their market wants.
The "purpose" of said business artist is then born through their "passion" to SERVE said market. From their "passion" to serve said market, their persistence/tenacity is developed as they can see the BIG PICTURE and don't allow short term setbacks to off-set their ultimate goal/milestones.