Not too often will you find us touching the third rail of politics within Small Business School.
I am stridently independent; I grew up distrusting politicians. Perhaps I heard my father say a few too many times, abusing Lord Acton's famous quote, "Power corrupts; political power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
Hattie is a partisan (very conservative), so we try not to impose our political views on others. Besides, the website and the television show are all about how one creates an abundance of value such that a business emerges and how it becomes sustainable. It is not about the people who believe they can lead a nation and the world.
The website -- http://SmallBusinessSchool.org -- and the show are all about our universal struggle to answer the question, What is life? ...that's about how each of us creates meaning in the world. Good people try to make this little world of ours a better place. Bad people, the "not-so-good," arrogant, or narcissistic, think, "It is all about me."
Yet, as this election unfolds, I find myself less and less confident of both parties so I had to stop and ask "Why?"
The Key Questions about life:
There was a philosopher in the 1700s, Immanuel Kant, who reduced life to four simple questions:
- Where did I come from? (the past)
- Who am I? (the present)
- Where am I going? (the future)
- And what is the meaning and value of my life? (the evergreen, eternal, first principles)
Answers to questions open the way to develop a relation. Now, in the nitty-gritty world of business, it is often said that for anyone to do business with you, that person must know you (past), like you (present), trust you (future), and believe you (evergreen).
Every question renders an answer, opens the way to more questions that render answers that build upon knowing, liking, trusting and believing. These dynamics of going deeper within answers is actually little understood. As children, we all played with "Why?" until we were asked to stop the silliness. We've been conditioned to rebuff anyone who asks "too many questions." But, is it silly to want to reach deeper and deeper within any subject-as-given?
The answer, "Of course not," is ever-more heightened with the total collapse of space and time -- the paradigm shift ushered in by a world-wide-web -- so increasingly there are no traditional boundaries that separate any of us and any piece of information about us.
We have only begun to understand what this means.
Questions & Answers (Q&A). I believe there is an actual structure to the Q&A; I call it an epistemology of interiority. It comes out of my work in the foundations of physics and theology; and it drives the first principles of this show/website. Real answers create the continuity conditions that build real relations, and those relations become actions or the dynamics of a day. The lack of deep answers leads me to make this observation about Barack Obama's candidacy:
If Obama were to lose this election it will be because people either do not know him; or, they do not trust him; or, they do not believe him. Nothing more; nothing less. All the words we use and the actions we take matter.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend in the USA, 2008
Memorial Day puts life into focus for us all. The greatest discontinuity in life is death. Yet, although we seemingly know so much about life, we truly know very little about death. As a people, most of us turn to religion and then we all fight over the words and meanings. And often, wars and deaths follow. It is a strange irony. We can do better.
We all need foundations. Even the television series has a simple foundations statement. It is based on three universals about the very nature of perfection. The first and most simple is continuity; as a function it creates order. The second is symmetry and as a function it creates relations. The third is harmony, a complex symmetry moving in time, and it creates fleeting moments of perfection (as well as all the dynamics of life within an imperfect, fundamentally chaotic, physical world).
Reality Check. This three-part statement can be used as a reality check for all religions and their statements about life and death. If their holy writings are not implicitly about continuity-order, symmetry-relations, and ultimately dynamics-harmony, then that statement is an historic statement, stamped within a moment in time, and its universality can only be understood within the context of perfection and perfected states in space and time.
All universals inherently satisfy those three conditions (more about this statement in future blogs).
The struggle of life and death. In a prior blog the work of Ahmad Chebbani and the US-Arab Economic Forum was introduced. The net-net of that forum is that we will be working with the embassies and their country's investors to re-introduce the television series into every Arab nation. We will also be launching a new series about the best businesses in the world. We'll look at the oldest to examine the essential nature of their continuity conditions. And, we'll look at the businesses creating the most jobs to look more deeply into the dynamics of innovation.
Business is fundamentally about creating value. And, value is measured by those same three universals. Business may not discuss universals very well, but they are inherent in the essential fabric of good business and this show and all the shows that we introduce will always be about the best businesses.
Every day should begin as a Memorial Day. This weekend it has been a profound pleasure to review several episodes where the founder has died simply to see that their legacy vibrantly lives on.
We all need foundations. Even the television series has a simple foundations statement. It is based on three universals about the very nature of perfection. The first and most simple is continuity; as a function it creates order. The second is symmetry and as a function it creates relations. The third is harmony, a complex symmetry moving in time, and it creates fleeting moments of perfection (as well as all the dynamics of life within an imperfect, fundamentally chaotic, physical world).
Reality Check. This three-part statement can be used as a reality check for all religions and their statements about life and death. If their holy writings are not implicitly about continuity-order, symmetry-relations, and ultimately dynamics-harmony, then that statement is an historic statement, stamped within a moment in time, and its universality can only be understood within the context of perfection and perfected states in space and time.
All universals inherently satisfy those three conditions (more about this statement in future blogs).
The struggle of life and death. In a prior blog the work of Ahmad Chebbani and the US-Arab Economic Forum was introduced. The net-net of that forum is that we will be working with the embassies and their country's investors to re-introduce the television series into every Arab nation. We will also be launching a new series about the best businesses in the world. We'll look at the oldest to examine the essential nature of their continuity conditions. And, we'll look at the businesses creating the most jobs to look more deeply into the dynamics of innovation.
Business is fundamentally about creating value. And, value is measured by those same three universals. Business may not discuss universals very well, but they are inherent in the essential fabric of good business and this show and all the shows that we introduce will always be about the best businesses.
Every day should begin as a Memorial Day. This weekend it has been a profound pleasure to review several episodes where the founder has died simply to see that their legacy vibrantly lives on.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
May 1: An open letter and a request for a prayer on this National Day of Prayer
There are many benefits in doing a weekly television show about people who start, run, and grow a very successful business.¹ The greatest benefit is just to be with these very special people for a few days.² We have met some of the finest, most-evolved people on the planet.³ The second benefit is a blessing; many have become friends. And third, sometimes we are invited as their guests to special occasions.
Surely, we feel this way about Ahmad Chebbani and his wife, Michelle, and their three lovely daughters. What a privilege to get to know them. And, what an honor to continue to know and to watch this family and their businesses grow.
Ahmad has invited us to attend his U.S. –Arab Economic Forum on May 7-9, 2008 in Washington D.C. and I am anxious to report the results.
On September 11, 2001 the chemistry of the global community was forever changed. Now people like Ahmad are trying to build bridges over the chasm that was created that day.
Thought-leaders from business, government and academia from over 35 countries will convene to struggle to answer the question, "How do we bridge the divide?" Of course, I have been thinking about the finest possible outcome of such an event.
Today is May 1, 2008. It is the National Day of Prayer. I ask that you stop for a moment and offer a little prayer that together we all might get involved in bridging the divides between cultures, religions, and political systems.
On a selfish note, I also ask for your prayers for this television production, Small Business School. It has a big vision and mission.
Just think what might happen if we were all looking for the most ethical, generous, and successful people in the world to profile and understand deeply. What role models these people would be! Just think what might happen if there were a series like American Idol but all about business. Reward the good and ignore the bad.
Thank you.
Bruce Camber
camber@SmallBusinessSchool.org
214-801-8521
Footnotes:
¹ This show is on mission and is driven by a new vision for the future.
² The people invited to be stars of this show have been selected by their communities -- they are profoundly respected within their industry for their leadership and integrity and they are loved in their community for their generosity and ethics. Here is a link to the selection criteria.
³Of course, one's blog is a personal reflection on the meaning and value of life.
Surely, we feel this way about Ahmad Chebbani and his wife, Michelle, and their three lovely daughters. What a privilege to get to know them. And, what an honor to continue to know and to watch this family and their businesses grow.
Ahmad has invited us to attend his U.S. –Arab Economic Forum on May 7-9, 2008 in Washington D.C. and I am anxious to report the results.
On September 11, 2001 the chemistry of the global community was forever changed. Now people like Ahmad are trying to build bridges over the chasm that was created that day.
Thought-leaders from business, government and academia from over 35 countries will convene to struggle to answer the question, "How do we bridge the divide?" Of course, I have been thinking about the finest possible outcome of such an event.
Today is May 1, 2008. It is the National Day of Prayer. I ask that you stop for a moment and offer a little prayer that together we all might get involved in bridging the divides between cultures, religions, and political systems.
On a selfish note, I also ask for your prayers for this television production, Small Business School. It has a big vision and mission.
Just think what might happen if we were all looking for the most ethical, generous, and successful people in the world to profile and understand deeply. What role models these people would be! Just think what might happen if there were a series like American Idol but all about business. Reward the good and ignore the bad.
Thank you.
Bruce Camber
camber@SmallBusinessSchool.org
214-801-8521
Footnotes:
¹ This show is on mission and is driven by a new vision for the future.
² The people invited to be stars of this show have been selected by their communities -- they are profoundly respected within their industry for their leadership and integrity and they are loved in their community for their generosity and ethics. Here is a link to the selection criteria.
³Of course, one's blog is a personal reflection on the meaning and value of life.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Who are the most evolved people on the planet?
I received an email from an old friend inviting me to join a telephone conference call, a discussion with some of "the most evolved people on the planet." I thought, "What an interesting idea! " Yet, it begs the question, "Who are these most evolved people? What makes them so? Who's the judge?"
I began thinking about it.
Most of you won't be surprised that I think small business owners are some of the most evolved people on the planet. They are the risk takers, the job creators, the problem solvers... they are the same people who have been called crazy, out-of-touch fools, and stupid-and-ignorant of basic facts. In spite of the harsh judgment, they persevered and proved people wrong. They moved us all forward.
I am especially keen of people who take on the biggest ideas that reach into the very first principles of life. Jack Miller is such a person. Remigus Shatas is as well.
Ever since I was about five years old, I have had a fascination with inventors and people who literally create things just from an idea. Early on I made the study of creativity a quiet passion which carried me throughout school and beyond. In 1994, I discovered a simple truth about our lack of intellectual curiosity (and our lack of understanding the brain-mind connection and the very meaning of basic structure). I decided to share these simple insights with my old friend who was convening some of the most evolved people on the planet.
This is what I wrote:
Hi Craig,
Three simple questions tell us how unenlightened we all are. These are questions kindergarten children should be able to answer but we have not created the environment for understanding interior things.
Interiority is little discussed. People sleep every night, they dream, they close their eyes and meditate, and they pray, but we hardly have a clue what goes on within. It is on the other side of the Planck constant; it is where the 0,1 become the Janus face of universality.
The three simple questions are:
1. What is the most basic structure of the universe. The answer: The tetrahedron. That is true for physics, chemistry, biology and a host of others.
2. What is perfectly enclosed by the tetrahedron? For that answer, we must go inside it. Half the six edges (three coming down and three on the base) and we discover there is a tetrahedron in each corner and an octahedron in the middle. A bunch of people, yet probably less than .000001% of the population knows this simple interior structure of the most basic structure on earth.
That's blasphemous. It is intellectual nincompoopery... a disgrace within the history of scholarship.
The third question perhaps is obvious by now, but it is:
3. What is perfectly enclosed by the octahedron?” Again half the twelve edges and you discover the eight tetrahedrons in each face and the six octahedrons in each corner. I have asked literally hundreds of people that question over the years, and only John Conway of Princeton had a quick answer. Yet, his answer did not come as fast as 8-times-8…. He said, “Let’s figure it out," and of course, he did rather quickly.
Here we have the two most basic structures on earth and throughout the universe and we do not know them. What riches there are to be discovered within them once we awaken from our dogmatic slumber!
So, my question to you is in the form of a verbal survey of those who are some of the most evolved people on the planet. I wonder, “How many would know the answers to those three simple questions?”
If you find this to be a lot of foolishness, shame on me for not being clearer.
If you find it a bit intriguing, perhaps we should be talking about it sometime!
Warmly,
Bruce
PS. The answers do have many functional applications. Even some of the greatest achievements in intellectual history, such as the double helix, get put into a new light. Not much is known about the “other side” of Max’s constant. Yet, the wonderful physicist, David Bohm, did a calculation back in the ‘60s about quantum fluctuations at that transformation point. He said that within any cubic centimeter of space that the fluctuation energy is approximately equivalent to 14 Hiroshima detonations. When I read that in Causality & Chance in Modern Physics as a student in the ‘70s, it became a source of great fascination.
I would like to think it moves me closer to my earliest goals to understand creativity. Perhaps those simple notions (within the page linked above) are a first principle for people who are among the most evolved on the planet. Perhaps... perhaps.
I began thinking about it.
Most of you won't be surprised that I think small business owners are some of the most evolved people on the planet. They are the risk takers, the job creators, the problem solvers... they are the same people who have been called crazy, out-of-touch fools, and stupid-and-ignorant of basic facts. In spite of the harsh judgment, they persevered and proved people wrong. They moved us all forward.
I am especially keen of people who take on the biggest ideas that reach into the very first principles of life. Jack Miller is such a person. Remigus Shatas is as well.
Ever since I was about five years old, I have had a fascination with inventors and people who literally create things just from an idea. Early on I made the study of creativity a quiet passion which carried me throughout school and beyond. In 1994, I discovered a simple truth about our lack of intellectual curiosity (and our lack of understanding the brain-mind connection and the very meaning of basic structure). I decided to share these simple insights with my old friend who was convening some of the most evolved people on the planet.
This is what I wrote:
Hi Craig,
Three simple questions tell us how unenlightened we all are. These are questions kindergarten children should be able to answer but we have not created the environment for understanding interior things.
Interiority is little discussed. People sleep every night, they dream, they close their eyes and meditate, and they pray, but we hardly have a clue what goes on within. It is on the other side of the Planck constant; it is where the 0,1 become the Janus face of universality.
The three simple questions are:
1. What is the most basic structure of the universe. The answer: The tetrahedron. That is true for physics, chemistry, biology and a host of others.
2. What is perfectly enclosed by the tetrahedron? For that answer, we must go inside it. Half the six edges (three coming down and three on the base) and we discover there is a tetrahedron in each corner and an octahedron in the middle. A bunch of people, yet probably less than .000001% of the population knows this simple interior structure of the most basic structure on earth.
That's blasphemous. It is intellectual nincompoopery... a disgrace within the history of scholarship.
The third question perhaps is obvious by now, but it is:
3. What is perfectly enclosed by the octahedron?” Again half the twelve edges and you discover the eight tetrahedrons in each face and the six octahedrons in each corner. I have asked literally hundreds of people that question over the years, and only John Conway of Princeton had a quick answer. Yet, his answer did not come as fast as 8-times-8…. He said, “Let’s figure it out," and of course, he did rather quickly.
Here we have the two most basic structures on earth and throughout the universe and we do not know them. What riches there are to be discovered within them once we awaken from our dogmatic slumber!
So, my question to you is in the form of a verbal survey of those who are some of the most evolved people on the planet. I wonder, “How many would know the answers to those three simple questions?”
If you find this to be a lot of foolishness, shame on me for not being clearer.
If you find it a bit intriguing, perhaps we should be talking about it sometime!
Warmly,
Bruce
PS. The answers do have many functional applications. Even some of the greatest achievements in intellectual history, such as the double helix, get put into a new light. Not much is known about the “other side” of Max’s constant. Yet, the wonderful physicist, David Bohm, did a calculation back in the ‘60s about quantum fluctuations at that transformation point. He said that within any cubic centimeter of space that the fluctuation energy is approximately equivalent to 14 Hiroshima detonations. When I read that in Causality & Chance in Modern Physics as a student in the ‘70s, it became a source of great fascination.
________________________
As a footnote to my letter above, in 1980 I started my doctoral dissertation entitled, “Perfected States in Space-time.” All my professors thought I was crazy. Yet, in thinking about that little discovery in 1994 I wrote this little summary about the nature and meaning of life and business: http://search.smallbusinessschool.org/page869.htmlI would like to think it moves me closer to my earliest goals to understand creativity. Perhaps those simple notions (within the page linked above) are a first principle for people who are among the most evolved on the planet. Perhaps... perhaps.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Phishing and Phishers and Phreaks
I just got my 300+ email from a freak of nature that was phishing for my PayPal account information.
I genuinely like most people; I do not like these evil souls who have become another of the many "Phishers" (fissures) within the ethical and moral fiber of our fragile human equation.
In that light, I just penned this note to PaylPal asking them, "What can I do?"
______________________
"Good people of the PayPal team:
To date, the most basic and simple questions of life were voiced by Immanuel Kant in the 1780s: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? And, what is the meaning and value of life?
The lesser-ones among us-- those who are unethical and prey on the naiveté of the uninformed -- do not address basic questions. They are short-term thinkers. And, what may have started as mischievousness, has become a phishing industry that costs us all billions of dollars.
Those of us on-this-side-of-the-equation have to do more than just send you, the FCC and FTC a copy of an occasional phishing email that we might receive. So, please help us out. Help us to do more.
I have a thought about it. Let's find a few of them and interview them. Let's find a few who have been hurt. Let's get them together and see what happens.
Since 1994 we have done a weekly, half-hour television show, Small Business School, that airs mostly on PBS stations in the USA.
You can find us in the metro San Francisco on these stations - http://smallbusinessschool.org/webapp/sbs/States/6.jsp
The show also airs around the world on the Voice of America.
We did an episode about protecting your priceless data that almost touched on phishing:
http://search.smallbusinessschool.org/page98.html?epid=171
http://search.smallbusinessschool.org/video.cfm?clip=1603
We did episode on Intellectual Property rights that talked mostly about IP theft:
http://search.smallbusinessschool.com/video.cfm?clip=1244
http://search.smallbusinessschool.org/page98.html?epid=125
But we have not looked at the issue of phishing per se.
If you are interested, we are interested. Shall we talk?
Many thanks for your earlier response.
Warmly,
Bruce
PS. Identity is important. I think we should all follow Adobe's lead. Have you seen their products when they load? There are 40-to-100 developers names listed. When you steal from Adobe, you are stealing from these people. That's a start. I think every company should be using real names and faces. You are not some abstract entity, but hearts and minds.
So, please write or call, and identify yourself!
Thanks.
-BEC
214-801-8521
Bruce Camber, Executive Producer
Small Business School, Inc.
Private Business Channel, Inc.
http://SmallBusinessSchool.org
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
"I'm going to be a producer" so say thousands
Grassroots television productions by the over 60 crowd
An Interview of Bruce Camber, written by Andrew Caster
Dallas, San Diego, Denver, Palm Beach, Glendive, Montana, and Damariscota, Maine: Hundreds of small business owners throughout the USA are beginning to produce docudramas for television and the web, and according to Bruce Camber, “Soon millions will.”
Camber speaks from 14 years of weekly television productions. His series, Small Business School, opened on PBS television stations back on September 3, 1994. Right from the beginning he has been telling any body who would listen -- every PBS station, all their independent producers, and every business owner, “Mel Brooks got it wrong! We are all producers. Get a website and get busy producing.”
He continued, “Everything was getting cheaper, faster, and easier. There were virtually no barriers to entry. It was a no brainer then, and it is common sense today." He believes that video productions are about where word processing was in 1980, "Today, nobody talks about word processing . We all just do it. In just a few years even the over-60 crowd will be producing television.”
Camber is teaching people to do it. Instructions and tools are all online. For every episode of their show, over 200 businesses are nominated. They have 60,000 businesses that have been highly recommended to them by local business advocates. "These are businesses that have created jobs for at least ten years. They are loved in their community for their generosity and ethics, and they are respected in their industry for their leadership and integrity," he said. Of that group he says about 1000 businesses are developing the B-roll and answering questions online to develop their transcript and a case study guide.
"Our goal is to have over 2000 businesses each year profiled on their local PBS station. That is about 210 stations, each doing about ten episodes per year. The best of those episodes will air nationally and globally." The show, Small Business School, has aired on most PBS-member stations over the course of 14 years. It has been airing on the Voice of America around the world since 1995.
To be sure, these are not hot and flashy productions. They say that these are just good stories about good people doing good things, “This is a Pollyanna production. We believe in the goodness of people and we go out to find the best role models we can to tell a story that is not being told on television – most business owners are fair, ethical and very decent people.”
Camber rather whimsically cautioned all the young, sassy producers, “All of a sudden we turned 60 and now the kids think we’re old. Sorry, kids, we ain’t. We’re not going away. We’re not retiring. Retirement is boredom, then death. We’ll die with our boots on. Now, we may have become slow adopters, but just remember, we invented this stuff in the first place.”
For more information, contact Bruce Camber,
Executive Producer 214-801-8521 camber@SmallBusinessSchool.org
Small Business School, Inc. http://SmallBusinessSchool.org
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tuesday is about transactions
Albert Black of Dallas, an American hero
A hard-nosed, well-grounded visionary. He lives, breathes, and acts on his two most basic faith statements. First, he asks for 100% then gives 125%. You won't believe the results. He sees the deep potential within everybody. His human resource strategies are more than innovative; they are life-changing and heart-transforming!
Great business owners understand that people can't be shoved into cubicles and forgotten. People's lives can't be cut into work and personal with the owner ignoring the personal part. Get to know this true leader who sees his role, not as a CEO but as a coach, mentor, teacher, guide, and even a parent (when they never had one) to his people.
Read more, watch the video, see for yourself.
A hard-nosed, well-grounded visionary. He lives, breathes, and acts on his two most basic faith statements. First, he asks for 100% then gives 125%. You won't believe the results. He sees the deep potential within everybody. His human resource strategies are more than innovative; they are life-changing and heart-transforming!
Great business owners understand that people can't be shoved into cubicles and forgotten. People's lives can't be cut into work and personal with the owner ignoring the personal part. Get to know this true leader who sees his role, not as a CEO but as a coach, mentor, teacher, guide, and even a parent (when they never had one) to his people.
Read more, watch the video, see for yourself.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Saturday's Systems and perfected states in space and time
First, and foremost, business is a system for creating value. The more perfect a product or service is, the more perceived value it has.
Back in the 70s, I worked with a group of physicists on one side of me and a group of theologians on the other. Each group was striving to understand the most fundamental aspects of life. Pushed to their logical limits, each wanted to understand the very nature of perfection. In the physical world, there is only an ideal perfection that exists in our mental constructions alone. In the theological world, the ultimate world or God's world, it is always perfect. The place where these two meet -- an interstitial, nexus, or transformation point -- is a perfected state in space and time.
What does that all have to do with business? Everything.
Business is a system for creating something of value:
Small businesses have the greatest probability of getting these systems so dynamic, that the corporate culture becomes one focused on continuous improvement within one's business domain.
Though each business in this library is a great example, one of the best businesses to examine where all the people are caught up in continuous improvement -- making it perfect -- is Ziba Design.
Back in the 70s, I worked with a group of physicists on one side of me and a group of theologians on the other. Each group was striving to understand the most fundamental aspects of life. Pushed to their logical limits, each wanted to understand the very nature of perfection. In the physical world, there is only an ideal perfection that exists in our mental constructions alone. In the theological world, the ultimate world or God's world, it is always perfect. The place where these two meet -- an interstitial, nexus, or transformation point -- is a perfected state in space and time.
What does that all have to do with business? Everything.
Business is a system for creating something of value:
- In Big Businesses -- over 5000 employees (Wal-Mart is the biggest with over 1M) -- people tend to think of business as where you go to work and get compensated for it. It's a job. Very, very few are looking to create a perfected moment for the business, oneself or the customers.
- In most mid-size businesses -- from 500 to 5000 employees -- people still tend to think of their work as a job. It is where you go to get paid at the end of the week. Though a greater percentage of people see the end product that is sold, very rare is Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement something that is within one's guts and being, from head to toe.
- In small businesses -- up to 500 employees -- most people know the founder. Most people know the company's stories. Most people know the mission, the vision and the products and services. They participate. Their compensation is often closely related to their contributions in moving the products and services to a higher perfection.
Small businesses have the greatest probability of getting these systems so dynamic, that the corporate culture becomes one focused on continuous improvement within one's business domain.
Though each business in this library is a great example, one of the best businesses to examine where all the people are caught up in continuous improvement -- making it perfect -- is Ziba Design.
Friday, February 29, 2008
The Foundations for Financial Friday
In various episodes over the years the focus has been on financial statements, key critical ratios, business valuations, intangibles and exit strategies. Each is a key element in the weekly-monthly-annual physical exam of your business.
Where the first blog is the foundation for all these that have followed, today's blog simply called, Financial Friday, will be the foundation for further study. And, these are the key resources and episodes, with their case studies, video clip and transcript that will be explored as deeply as possible.
In part, today's blog shall become a dialogue with you about the very nature of value, the process of creating value, the accumulation of value, the storage of value, and the ways you leverage that value throughout a lifetime.
Episode: Business Owner(s) - Brief explanation
1. Financial statements: Jim Schell - Jim walks us through his Financial Statement University. He believes every employee should be tracking key ratios. Every employee should have bottomline accountability. There are many other key case studies to be explored as well.
2. Business valuations and intangibles: This study began many years ago and it will continue for many more years. If 87% of your business valuation is tied up within your intangibles, we all have to understand what it takes to make those intangibles as part of your business valuation.
3. Exit Strategies: When do you begin thinking about an exit strategy? Today, many recommend that it being in the founding business plan. Before you begin, know how you'll exit. This episode is looks at eight exit strategies and from each, you can examine an entire episode for even more. Particularly, there are four special episodes to explore further:
Where the first blog is the foundation for all these that have followed, today's blog simply called, Financial Friday, will be the foundation for further study. And, these are the key resources and episodes, with their case studies, video clip and transcript that will be explored as deeply as possible.
In part, today's blog shall become a dialogue with you about the very nature of value, the process of creating value, the accumulation of value, the storage of value, and the ways you leverage that value throughout a lifetime.
Episode: Business Owner(s) - Brief explanation
1. Financial statements: Jim Schell - Jim walks us through his Financial Statement University. He believes every employee should be tracking key ratios. Every employee should have bottomline accountability. There are many other key case studies to be explored as well.
2. Business valuations and intangibles: This study began many years ago and it will continue for many more years. If 87% of your business valuation is tied up within your intangibles, we all have to understand what it takes to make those intangibles as part of your business valuation.
3. Exit Strategies: When do you begin thinking about an exit strategy? Today, many recommend that it being in the founding business plan. Before you begin, know how you'll exit. This episode is looks at eight exit strategies and from each, you can examine an entire episode for even more. Particularly, there are four special episodes to explore further:
- Sell to someone like yourself, first focusing on the work of Jim Schell, Peter Schenck & Lorraine Miller, and then focusing on evolution of episodes over time with the founder of the business.
- Sell to your employees through Employee-Stock Ownership ( ESOP)
- Sell to publicly-traded companies
- Sell to private equity capital through Reg D, Rule 504, 505, or 506
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
It's Wednesday! "What's working for you?"
We all too easily get bogged down in our day-to-day tasks. The status quo becomes a comfort zone. To break it open, shake it up a little, requires somebody asking the question, "What's working? How could all this work better?"
One way to shake it up, is to look into the world of people who are trying to shake it up all the time. That is their M.O. (modus operandi or mode of operation). It is a mind set that is worth adopting. Millionaires have it some of the time. Billionaires have it more often.
So, if you will, stop today for a few moments and look into the life of a new billionaire whose business is churning a billion or more in revenue this year.
Key links to go further (Homepage: Video):
1. Bob Simpson and Louis Baldwin of XTO Energy:
Go get other people's money to grow
2. Ebby Halliday of Ebby Halliday Realtors:
Jump to the head of the class
3. Frank Jao of Bridgecreek Development:
Learn to see what is not there
4. Dr. Neil Clark Warren of eHarmony:
Turn a small idea into a big one
More thoughts and references to billion-dollar ideas.
One of the goals is to have 100 billion-dollar ideas listed. All are free for the picking.
One way to shake it up, is to look into the world of people who are trying to shake it up all the time. That is their M.O. (modus operandi or mode of operation). It is a mind set that is worth adopting. Millionaires have it some of the time. Billionaires have it more often.
So, if you will, stop today for a few moments and look into the life of a new billionaire whose business is churning a billion or more in revenue this year.
Key links to go further (Homepage: Video):
1. Bob Simpson and Louis Baldwin of XTO Energy:
Go get other people's money to grow
2. Ebby Halliday of Ebby Halliday Realtors:
Jump to the head of the class
3. Frank Jao of Bridgecreek Development:
Learn to see what is not there
4. Dr. Neil Clark Warren of eHarmony:
Turn a small idea into a big one
More thoughts and references to billion-dollar ideas.
One of the goals is to have 100 billion-dollar ideas listed. All are free for the picking.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday: Reduce theory to practice
Theoria and Praxis. Put the words in quotes and look at a few references on the web.
Also, try "Theoria & Praxis" and "Theory and the Practical." You could spend a lifetime contemplating all the entries. I will assure you that many monks and recluses have done just that. There is something profoundly informative about theory. It is not idle speculation, "Oh, that's just a theory."
Theory opens one to the world of perfections... in business it is also called continuous improvement, kaizen, Six Sigma, the theory of constraints (TOC), Total Quality Management (TQM) and more.
It pushes us into a powerful domain of thinking and business is becoming increasing good at it, doing even better than the universities where you would expect to find "theoria thinking" in abundance. It is this type of thinking that is causing today's business revolution to succeed beyond any political or religious ideological movement. Thinking about the many sides and faces of perfection has opened hundreds of doors in every business and in every application and within every detail.
In our vision and mission statement for Small Business School, we open the way to an even more basic document, our first principles. In that statement I say this about perfection:
"This is also the basis of the value chain. The more perfect a moment or an experience is, OR the more perfected a thing or system is, the more valuable it becomes. Thus, we have the beginnings of business. Any assertion that counters life's evolving perfections is not religion (at best, it's a cult); it is also not business (it's exploitation or a bad company); certainly it is not good government; and most often, it is not even good science."
This is the new revolution that changes everything forever.
Key links to go further:
1. Continuous Improvement: Visit with Ziba Design
2. Kaizen: Visit with Modern Postcard
3. Theory of Constraints: Visit with Steve Hoffman
3. Six Sigma: Visit Time Technology with Nigel Skeffington
4. Total Quality Management: Visit with Diversified Chemicals
5. Inculcate quality: Visit with Arnold Joseff
Also, try "Theoria & Praxis" and "Theory and the Practical." You could spend a lifetime contemplating all the entries. I will assure you that many monks and recluses have done just that. There is something profoundly informative about theory. It is not idle speculation, "Oh, that's just a theory."
Theory opens one to the world of perfections... in business it is also called continuous improvement, kaizen, Six Sigma, the theory of constraints (TOC), Total Quality Management (TQM) and more.
It pushes us into a powerful domain of thinking and business is becoming increasing good at it, doing even better than the universities where you would expect to find "theoria thinking" in abundance. It is this type of thinking that is causing today's business revolution to succeed beyond any political or religious ideological movement. Thinking about the many sides and faces of perfection has opened hundreds of doors in every business and in every application and within every detail.
In our vision and mission statement for Small Business School, we open the way to an even more basic document, our first principles. In that statement I say this about perfection:
"This is also the basis of the value chain. The more perfect a moment or an experience is, OR the more perfected a thing or system is, the more valuable it becomes. Thus, we have the beginnings of business. Any assertion that counters life's evolving perfections is not religion (at best, it's a cult); it is also not business (it's exploitation or a bad company); certainly it is not good government; and most often, it is not even good science."
This is the new revolution that changes everything forever.
Key links to go further:
1. Continuous Improvement: Visit with Ziba Design
2. Kaizen: Visit with Modern Postcard
3. Theory of Constraints: Visit with Steve Hoffman
3. Six Sigma: Visit Time Technology with Nigel Skeffington
4. Total Quality Management: Visit with Diversified Chemicals
5. Inculcate quality: Visit with Arnold Joseff
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday Works! So, what is working? And, what's not working?
There are many billion-dollar ideas for a business, actually low-hanging fruit right there on our family tree, and nobody seems to want to pick it!?! I guess most people do not see the opportunity or they're scared to engage when they do see it.
Would you like to see a multi-billion-dollar idea, quite a simple concept, but a difficult idea to implement? On Wednesdays I'll begin here with a blog. Then, I'll go further out on a limb to explore some of those ideas over on our website. There will always be links between the two.
Initially, some of these ideas will appear ridiculous. With others, you might ask, "Why didn't I think of that?"
If you want to come up with your own unique ideas, just ask the question, what works? Come up with a list. Then look at that list again, and with each entry ask, "What doesn't work there?"
Sounds too simple, doesn't it? Well, try it. Begin with the start of your day. List everything that works. Before you walk out your door, you could easily have listed 100 things that just worked for you. Now, what could have worked better?
Those are practical, practice ideas. Your best ideas will come from deep within your thinking about those things that are real concerns and thoughts that you have had over time. Your very best ideas you have been thinking about for years. Those are your nagging thoughts.
I have a had a few of those, yet this one for this story is somewhat whimsical. It is about creating an uninterrupted walking path from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Click here to read the rest of the story...Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Transactional Tuesday:
Why does somebody buy from you?
I would like to turn back the pages to a very early episode of the show and introduce you to Ron Willingham. He is the founder of Integrity Selling and LifeScript Learning, and the author of "The Ten Laws of Wealth and Abundance" and "The Inner Game of Selling."
Ron gave us good advice when he said, "People have got to like you, trust you, believe you and understand you." These are four keys to a transaction.
Obviously, it is true for the biggest sales. Yet, when you think about it, these keys to a transaction hold true in most everything we buy.
To like you, trust you, believe you, and understand you... each are reflected within our own first principles for business.
Do I like you? Thinking back, have you ever gone back to buy something from a person you do not like? It is rare, perhaps only in a one-of-a-kind situation. The first principle of business, creating order so there is continuity, opens a path so people can know you and your products and services and begin to like you. Consistent hours, consistent quality...
Do I trust you? Once you have purchased something because you need it from a business that you are just getting to know, the results of that purchase exercise a relational muscle. The second principle of business, creating a relation that has symmetry, means my sense of the value for the product or service was balanced with the money transacted. The more symmetry there is in a relation, a de facto agreement, the deeper one's trust grows and the more we are encouraged to buy those products and services again.
Do I believe you? Belief is yet deeper still. Trust gets extended through time and here those products and services begin to be among the stories that you tell. These products and services become integrated within the dynamics of your life and help to create a certain sense of harmony. Here you become a referenceable account... a believer!
Do I understand you? Wrap together knowing, liking, trusting and believing, and we emerge with understanding. The more we understand, the more forgiving and open we are when we invariably bump into one another's shortcomings, and believe me, we all have shortcomings.
So, let us learn what Hattie learned from Ron Willingham many, many years ago. People have got to like you, trust you, believe you and understand you before they'll consistently buy from you.
Thank you, Ron, for your insights. And, thank you, Hattie for the introduction.
I would like to turn back the pages to a very early episode of the show and introduce you to Ron Willingham. He is the founder of Integrity Selling and LifeScript Learning, and the author of "The Ten Laws of Wealth and Abundance" and "The Inner Game of Selling."
Ron gave us good advice when he said, "People have got to like you, trust you, believe you and understand you." These are four keys to a transaction.
Obviously, it is true for the biggest sales. Yet, when you think about it, these keys to a transaction hold true in most everything we buy.
To like you, trust you, believe you, and understand you... each are reflected within our own first principles for business.
Do I like you? Thinking back, have you ever gone back to buy something from a person you do not like? It is rare, perhaps only in a one-of-a-kind situation. The first principle of business, creating order so there is continuity, opens a path so people can know you and your products and services and begin to like you. Consistent hours, consistent quality...
Do I trust you? Once you have purchased something because you need it from a business that you are just getting to know, the results of that purchase exercise a relational muscle. The second principle of business, creating a relation that has symmetry, means my sense of the value for the product or service was balanced with the money transacted. The more symmetry there is in a relation, a de facto agreement, the deeper one's trust grows and the more we are encouraged to buy those products and services again.
Do I believe you? Belief is yet deeper still. Trust gets extended through time and here those products and services begin to be among the stories that you tell. These products and services become integrated within the dynamics of your life and help to create a certain sense of harmony. Here you become a referenceable account... a believer!
Do I understand you? Wrap together knowing, liking, trusting and believing, and we emerge with understanding. The more we understand, the more forgiving and open we are when we invariably bump into one another's shortcomings, and believe me, we all have shortcomings.
So, let us learn what Hattie learned from Ron Willingham many, many years ago. People have got to like you, trust you, believe you and understand you before they'll consistently buy from you.
Thank you, Ron, for your insights. And, thank you, Hattie for the introduction.
Monday, February 18, 2008
If it's Monday, let's think about making money.
Many small business owners really know how to make money. The people on whom we focus in the television show also know how to be generous, to have integrity, and to empower others.
Now, that is a powerful and bold combination in these selfish days and times.
Just based on that fact alone, I believe all these are already people worth getting to know. Yet, some of these people really know how to generate a lot of money... billions in revenues each year.
And, they empower the people who work with them to generate a lot of revenues, too. Where the average person in a Fortune 500 company will generate somewhere around $250,000 a year, some of our small businesses are generating well over $1.2 million per person.
That's a lot of money. So, this Monday, let us look at how this possibly can be so.
First, consider the work of Marty Edelston, Inc, the founder of Boardroom. He is in the Direct Marketing Association's Hall of Fame. The key component to learn is his simple formula called I-Power.
Second, consider the work of Frank Jao, the founder of Bridgecreek Development. He is the Honorary Mayor of Little Saigon in Westminster, California. He invests; he doesn't spend.
And, third, consider the work of Ebby Halliday. Sheer tenacity, just as boldly as possible moving forward through the tough times, constantly trying to improve one's industry, is enough.
Now, that is a powerful and bold combination in these selfish days and times.
Just based on that fact alone, I believe all these are already people worth getting to know. Yet, some of these people really know how to generate a lot of money... billions in revenues each year.
And, they empower the people who work with them to generate a lot of revenues, too. Where the average person in a Fortune 500 company will generate somewhere around $250,000 a year, some of our small businesses are generating well over $1.2 million per person.
That's a lot of money. So, this Monday, let us look at how this possibly can be so.
First, consider the work of Marty Edelston, Inc, the founder of Boardroom. He is in the Direct Marketing Association's Hall of Fame. The key component to learn is his simple formula called I-Power.
Second, consider the work of Frank Jao, the founder of Bridgecreek Development. He is the Honorary Mayor of Little Saigon in Westminster, California. He invests; he doesn't spend.
And, third, consider the work of Ebby Halliday. Sheer tenacity, just as boldly as possible moving forward through the tough times, constantly trying to improve one's industry, is enough.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
It is Sunday. Let us search for the source files of life, the first principles.
Source files of life? Nobody uses those terms. Do a web search on it. "Source files of life" renders zip. Nothing. Yet, there are about 5 million references to "source files." These are the deepest programs that make computers and software work. Back in the old days, such files were often written in Assembly language.
I like that thought. Assembly language is simple, just "0" and "1" arranged in groups of eight yet it opened up a new world for us all. It made computers work and work well.
In this column on Sundays, I'll dig deeper and deeper into the thought that there are source files for life. Assuredly they won't be written in Assembly language, but that language does give us some clues about the very basic structure of language and a relation. Just think what it means to create a language with just two numbers, the "0" and "1" arranged in groups of eight.
Many people will instantly disagree with me, however, I believe we have barely scratched the surface of understanding the deepest functionality of both numbers!
If you can take that as a given, one of my conclusions is that we have barely scratched the surface of those computer programs. Though considered a mature industry, I think both software and hardware are more like really smart teenagers still getting their act together. The next generation that is due to emerge, and I think it'll be sooner than later, will open us all up to a deeper dimensionality. And now with the worldwide web, that emergence will happen virtually overnight, within an instant -- virtually everywhere in the world at the same time.
Ubiquitous or omnipresent and rather omniscient. Hmmm...
The web does not have those source files for life...yet. Such files are coming. And then when we all begin to adopt them, we'll all emerge with a deeper understanding of who we are, where we came from, where we are going, and the meaning and value of our life (thank you, Immanuel Kant).
The focus of Small Business School is on those people who answer Kant's questions in such a way that they add real value to this world. I believe if you are not adding value, then you are dying. Value creation is one of the source files of life. And, when we create an excess of value, we have the beginning of a business. Those who create a lot of value and do it well should be studied. That is what is known as best practices and that is the singular purpose of Small Business School.
Let us tell the stories of those people who are reaching deep within themselves to understand the meaning and value of their own source files of life. None of us are perfect, but there are some of us who can inspire all of us to reach for a higher perfection.
Let us learn their names and know their stories.
I like that thought. Assembly language is simple, just "0" and "1" arranged in groups of eight yet it opened up a new world for us all. It made computers work and work well.
In this column on Sundays, I'll dig deeper and deeper into the thought that there are source files for life. Assuredly they won't be written in Assembly language, but that language does give us some clues about the very basic structure of language and a relation. Just think what it means to create a language with just two numbers, the "0" and "1" arranged in groups of eight.
Many people will instantly disagree with me, however, I believe we have barely scratched the surface of understanding the deepest functionality of both numbers!
If you can take that as a given, one of my conclusions is that we have barely scratched the surface of those computer programs. Though considered a mature industry, I think both software and hardware are more like really smart teenagers still getting their act together. The next generation that is due to emerge, and I think it'll be sooner than later, will open us all up to a deeper dimensionality. And now with the worldwide web, that emergence will happen virtually overnight, within an instant -- virtually everywhere in the world at the same time.
Ubiquitous or omnipresent and rather omniscient. Hmmm...
The web does not have those source files for life...yet. Such files are coming. And then when we all begin to adopt them, we'll all emerge with a deeper understanding of who we are, where we came from, where we are going, and the meaning and value of our life (thank you, Immanuel Kant).
The focus of Small Business School is on those people who answer Kant's questions in such a way that they add real value to this world. I believe if you are not adding value, then you are dying. Value creation is one of the source files of life. And, when we create an excess of value, we have the beginning of a business. Those who create a lot of value and do it well should be studied. That is what is known as best practices and that is the singular purpose of Small Business School.
Let us tell the stories of those people who are reaching deep within themselves to understand the meaning and value of their own source files of life. None of us are perfect, but there are some of us who can inspire all of us to reach for a higher perfection.
Let us learn their names and know their stories.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Saturday's focus on systems is a focus on the path to wealth -- monetary, physical, psychological, and spiritual wealth.
Hattie and I just met a long-time viewer of the show, Dan Swiger, the founder of Mentor Capitalist. He's been watching the show since 1994. He is a de facto systems thinker. Most of us are, but Dan is particularly good. He is constantly thinking about how people and ideas are connected.
That is the beginning of systems thinking: 1) How do things relate? 2) What makes things cohere? 3) How is value created? As you might expect, the answer is a simple-but-deep word: Systems.
The web is a great place to explore systems and ask those three questions. Each defines the heart of business. The best business people constantly think like a World Wide Web. The billionaires and multi-millionaires are very good at it.
On this Presidents' Weekend, we should all think more presidentially by learning how capital and systems cohere and how more value is created. I recommend the following:
1. Spend some time with Michael Novak to grasp the inherent systems within capital.
2. Grasp the power of your financials, as ratios. You'll begin seeing your business is one big system.
3. Protect your systems. Simple stuff. We all have to do it.
4. Teach everybody to respect each others Intellectual Property
That is the beginning of systems thinking: 1) How do things relate? 2) What makes things cohere? 3) How is value created? As you might expect, the answer is a simple-but-deep word: Systems.
The web is a great place to explore systems and ask those three questions. Each defines the heart of business. The best business people constantly think like a World Wide Web. The billionaires and multi-millionaires are very good at it.
On this Presidents' Weekend, we should all think more presidentially by learning how capital and systems cohere and how more value is created. I recommend the following:
1. Spend some time with Michael Novak to grasp the inherent systems within capital.
2. Grasp the power of your financials, as ratios. You'll begin seeing your business is one big system.
3. Protect your systems. Simple stuff. We all have to do it.
4. Teach everybody to respect each others Intellectual Property
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
How do you cultivate ideas?
There is very little theory in the work of Marty Edelston. He is a pragmatist, a realist, an idealist and a dreamer all rolled into one. He is also one of the most successful business owners we have had the pleasure to meet.
Marty recognizes and appreciates that we are each insightful and creative. We have ideas. We know what can work. So, he does something quite simple. He asks people questions.
He has formulated a question process he calls it I-power.
If you want to cultivate ideas, follow Marty's simple example. Perhaps your people will begin performing like his people do. Take your gross sales and divide by your total number of employees. The national average of the top 500 publicly-traded businesses is about $250,000 per employee. At Marty's place it is over $1.5 million. Enough said?
Marty recognizes and appreciates that we are each insightful and creative. We have ideas. We know what can work. So, he does something quite simple. He asks people questions.
He has formulated a question process he calls it I-power.
If you want to cultivate ideas, follow Marty's simple example. Perhaps your people will begin performing like his people do. Take your gross sales and divide by your total number of employees. The national average of the top 500 publicly-traded businesses is about $250,000 per employee. At Marty's place it is over $1.5 million. Enough said?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Wednesday is about what works
Work is about creating something of value. It is creativity. It is an essential energy of life. There is a value chain; and the more we understand it, the more we act on it.
Business is creating an abundance of value such that the excess goods or services can be sold for a reasonable margin.
All else is exploitation. It is not business.
There are too many people who are exploitive and their company is as well. We do not consider them to be businesses but call them a company of brutes and thieves, the corrupt, a company of fools, selfish people and otherwise short-term thinkers.
Most of the media focuses their attention on these short-term thinkers. The media is fascinated with the underbelly and dark side of the human equation.
This television show is different. Here we visit with people who think only about improving on what works. In several episodes of the show, that process took on a name and form. You see it come alive through the owner of the business.
Consider the work of Steve Hoffman, founder of Modern Postcard and what happens when a business focuses on Kaizen and the Theory of Constraints.
Consider the work of Sohrab Vossoughi, founder of Ziba Design. The entire workforce of this business is focused on Continuous Improvement and Total Quality Management.
Work is good. Jobs?!? Well, that is another story...
Business is creating an abundance of value such that the excess goods or services can be sold for a reasonable margin.
All else is exploitation. It is not business.
There are too many people who are exploitive and their company is as well. We do not consider them to be businesses but call them a company of brutes and thieves, the corrupt, a company of fools, selfish people and otherwise short-term thinkers.
Most of the media focuses their attention on these short-term thinkers. The media is fascinated with the underbelly and dark side of the human equation.
This television show is different. Here we visit with people who think only about improving on what works. In several episodes of the show, that process took on a name and form. You see it come alive through the owner of the business.
Consider the work of Steve Hoffman, founder of Modern Postcard and what happens when a business focuses on Kaizen and the Theory of Constraints.
Consider the work of Sohrab Vossoughi, founder of Ziba Design. The entire workforce of this business is focused on Continuous Improvement and Total Quality Management.
Work is good. Jobs?!? Well, that is another story...
Monday, February 4, 2008
A Projective Table of Contents
Sunday: Let us all look at the first principles that guide us. Are there core beliefs that all people might affirm, "This is true for all time and all people." Impossible? Maybe. But, then again, "maybe not." Can we afford to stop trying to find universals upon which we can agree?
How about the gravitational constant? How about periodic table of elements? Perhaps something simple should be considered, such as "Water is needed to support human life."
At this point, my starting point for Small Business School is here.
Monday: Let's look at Marketing and Money. So many people try to start a business with just a good idea and no money at all. Most of them are destined to go back to work within a job.
Tuesday: It is a day for Transactions. How is this site serving you? It is a day to sign up and to sell something of value. What can you sell from this website? First answer -- Your business. Next answer - your products and services.
Wednesday: What works? Why? What is not working? Where are the next billion-dollar ideas? What new products and services are needed to make our society and our world work? Let's examine the nature of very nature of work.
Work is good; jobs often are not. We'll examine work in light of ethics, leadership, integrity and the meaning and value of life.
Thursday: It is a day for testing. It is theory and praxis (the practical), for new ideas, for creativity, for insights... How do you cultivate ideas? How do you cultivate your own and cultivate those of people around you?
Friday: A day for Finances -- Balance Statements and Profit/Loss -- in light of your Exit Strategy. Such a study necessarily involves business valuation, P/E for private businesses, your deeper fiscal policy, ownership, and key critical ratios from your Financial Statements.
Saturday: A day to study Systems because systems open up the study of first principles. The television show, the website and this blog are all about Continuous Improvement, always seeking a higher perfection. We will discover how such a commitment yields results.
How about the gravitational constant? How about periodic table of elements? Perhaps something simple should be considered, such as "Water is needed to support human life."
At this point, my starting point for Small Business School is here.
Monday: Let's look at Marketing and Money. So many people try to start a business with just a good idea and no money at all. Most of them are destined to go back to work within a job.
Tuesday: It is a day for Transactions. How is this site serving you? It is a day to sign up and to sell something of value. What can you sell from this website? First answer -- Your business. Next answer - your products and services.
Wednesday: What works? Why? What is not working? Where are the next billion-dollar ideas? What new products and services are needed to make our society and our world work? Let's examine the nature of very nature of work.
Work is good; jobs often are not. We'll examine work in light of ethics, leadership, integrity and the meaning and value of life.
Thursday: It is a day for testing. It is theory and praxis (the practical), for new ideas, for creativity, for insights... How do you cultivate ideas? How do you cultivate your own and cultivate those of people around you?
Friday: A day for Finances -- Balance Statements and Profit/Loss -- in light of your Exit Strategy. Such a study necessarily involves business valuation, P/E for private businesses, your deeper fiscal policy, ownership, and key critical ratios from your Financial Statements.
Saturday: A day to study Systems because systems open up the study of first principles. The television show, the website and this blog are all about Continuous Improvement, always seeking a higher perfection. We will discover how such a commitment yields results.
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