Introduction to Smarter Business:

Essential Ideas for Business Success...

Introduction to Smarter Business:

Essential Ideas for Business Success...

"Nothing is so intolerable to man/woman as being fully at rest, without a passion, without business, without entertainment, without care." ~ Blaise Pascal

A 50 Year Love Affair With Business.

Dedicated to Dr. Raymond F. Barker, Ph.D 1929-2010
The man who gave me the power to SEE and SEIZE
Opportunity... and required me to teach you how to do it.

"Eric, you've got real talent. You're a natural born winner. You were born for business."

"If I do my job right, you will retire wealthy and lead a life that, by every measure, will be filled to the brim with happiness and joy."

"You will also suffer great losses, but live to tell about them. You will ride an emotional roller coaster where the highs will scare you to death... and the trip down will have you white-knuckled every inch of the way. Just when you think you have hit the lows, you will twist and turn, being buffeted by the sheer force of steel to the wheels... going hell-bent for election."

That was the advice I got from my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Raymond F. Barker during our first after class "meeting" at TJ's Bar and Grill, way back in 1965.

"If I don't do my job right, you will simply be counted among the great unwashed... drifting aimlessly to and fro looking for a job. Mediocrity, not excellence will be your lot in life. Take what I offer to heart, my young friend."

"Pour another round," I shouted across the crowd to the nearest waitress, "Doc Barker is going into his future speech again. This time after only 3 beers!"

I always loved that encouraging speech, because it was exactly the same regardless of who he was talking to. After the waitress would bring a shrimp cocktail, a cup of salty bar nuts and some soggy sauerkraut balls — Bowling Green's version of Foie Gras and Caviar — the conversation would really heat up.

PBR on tap was like mother's milk... and the more we lapped it up, the more we seemed to learn. The more we learned, the better the conversation.

But then again, cold beer and great conversation always goes over big in a small college town. Especially when you are young and hungry to learn.

It was during one of these "high level" business meetings with friends in low places that I learned one of the most valuable lessons a college kid could ever learn... a lesson that would serve me my entire life. In fact, it may be the single most important driver of my success over the last 50 years.

From the first time I met Ray, I liked him. He was interested in me and my dreams. He was interested in educating me. He was a "teacher's teacher," a real professional at getting students to learn and understand. Maybe it was because he cared about his craft... maybe it was because he cared about the future and wanted to prepare his minions for greatness... maybe he just cared about kids and wanted to help them achieve their full potential.

No question, he was a master at drawing out the best from everyone he touched. He especially loved teaching people who wanted to learn more than what's between the covers of the text books we were required to absorb.

"When it's all said and done," he opined over a tall cold one, "there's one and only ONE thing we need to teach you here at BG, Eric."

Thinking this was the beginning of one of his rhetorical rants, I chimed in, "What's that, Doc?"

"Opportunity," son, "I have to teach you how to spot opportunity... in fact, I need to show you how to become an 'opportunity magnet.'

If I do that well, you're gonna be fine. If I don't, you're sure to have big problems."

"Sounds great! I like the sound of opportunity magnet. What kind of opportunity we talking here, Doc?" I replied.

"Got your pen and pad?" he asked.

"Right here! Like you taught me, it's always within reach." I said.

All of a sudden the conversation turned serious. Looking around like he was being watched by the CIA or NSA, he gestured for me to come closer. He got quiet.

"Write this down" he commanded, almost in a whisper.

You're spooking me out here, I thought to myself.

This is the key to real wealth. The key to insane success. Pay attention, Eric. Write this down so you never forget it," he murmured.

TJ's was starting to fill up from the happy hour crowd and I could barely hear a thing, let alone the wisdom of the ages. I leaned in closer, and asked, "What do you want me to write?"

"There are three different kinds of opportunity, Eric. You have to be constantly on the look out for them."

"Got it... 3 kinds of opportunity... important to recognize fast." I repeated back to the good Doc. "Right," he nodded. "You're quick."

"Nurse... how bout a couple shots of Maker's over here?" I called out to the slowest passing waitress I could grab. "Gotcha," she yelled back.

"Number ONE," Ray slowly and patiently raised his voice a bit "is opportunity you CREATE. It's where 2 + 2 = 22 not 4. You start with nothing more than your imagination and BAM... an idea strikes you. You take it from there. Inspiration leading to pure creation."

"Got it right here," I pointed to the beer-stained paper in front of me with something like 'Create it' scrawled under the big opportunity word with arrows pointing to it.

"Pay attention. The SECOND kind is good but not great. It's opportunity that you go FIND," he said. "You're hungry, needy, and you start turning over every rock you can find... high and low. Sooner or later, there it will be," he advised. "You go on the hunt... and sooner or later, real opportunity is found."

Wow. Not quite a giant revelation, but I dutifully wrote it down on the edge of the sheet with 3 or 4 arrows pointing directly from FIND IT to the word opportunity higher up on the page.

By this time, the waitress delivered a pair of perfect Maker's shooters to compliment our half empty glasses of beer.

"Nothing better than a couple boiler makers amongst friends," Ray piped in. Slowly raising the brimming shot glass to my lips, I nodded my approval.

"The THIRD, and this is the sweetest of them all," he smiled "Opportunity that FINDS YOU! This is the hardest to see, but the sweetest of them all."

Get good at looking, and you will certainly FIND."

"But, stay open and opportunity will FIND YOU. There is absolutely nothing better! You're living your life, then BAM, there it is, all up in your face and everything." With that big toothy smile of his, he pounded his fist on the table and said, "Get it? Got it? Good!"

About that time we heard the booming voice of the bartender on the intercom, "Last Call! You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

"Got your notes?" he asked. "Right here," I pointed as we left TJ's.

A couple of days later I was going through my brief case and found the greasy, alcohol stained papers stuffed inside a file folder marked "save." Like I usually did, I looked over the hastily written page, in a handwriting that I could barely decipher, and made a mental picture of the contents. I wadded it up, and pitched it towards the big waste basket over in the corner.

Thinking about what I had scrawled on the page, I took out a fresh sheet and wrote at the top:

Three Kinds of Opportunity...

1. Opportunity you CREATE...
Good but hard.

2. Opportunity that you FIND...
Always be on the hunt.

3. Opportunity that FINDS YOU...
The best kind. Remain open.

Somewhere towards the bottom of the page I wrote: Keep — Ray thinks it's a big deal.

Of course, if I stopped my story right here, I would still be giving you some of the best advice you will ever receive. Learn to create opportunity and you will join the ranks of the business greats.

Learn how to send entire teams out looking for opportunity, and you will make it and make it big. Learn how to see, sense, smell, feel and touch ever-present opportunity — opportunity that's all around you, surrounding you all the time — and you will not only find wealth beyond your hopes and aspirations... you will live the life of your dreams.

I bring this up to not only honor the memories of a great mentor, but pass it on... the way he always insisted. It was not good enough for you to learn something at his hands. You had to teach it. You had to PROVE what you know by passing it on to others.

The proof that you actually knew what you learned was inextricably linked to how well you could teach it... how well you could communicate it... and the visible results you produced by employing it. Ray would accept nothing less.

Like any good minister, Ray preached a simple message, "There can be no Testament... without the TEST!"

He was always looking to see how you "tested-out." Did you use the idea and did you make the grade? A pretty bottom line approach if there ever was one.

My first TEST of his "grand unification theory of opportunity" came about two months down the line. I was in the middle of a crunch project with a couple of other professors who had received a National Science Foundation grant to study the effects of radiation and gravity on the reproduction cycle of drosophila (fruit flies.) I was chosen for this highfalutin, high-paying task because Ray taught me how to do frequency distributions and standard deviation calculations on a Monroe Graphing Calculator. (Big technology back in the day.)

It was about 8 pm and I was crunching numbers with reckless abandon. The phone rang, and it was Dr. Bill Hoskins, head of the department of International Business at BG. Instinctively, I knew the call was going to be big trouble for me... because he only called when he wanted something... and it was usually, drop everything and get on it right now grunt work.

"Eric... I need you to be at the docks in Toledo at 8 am sharp tomorrow morning. When I say sharp, I mean sharp. Take that Norelco tape recorder with you. Make sure you have new batteries."

"Bill, I've got Marketing at 8. Mo Mandel will have my hide if I dump his class," I argued. "And just why do I need to get my butt to the docks?"

"We need you to write a quick and easy book on foreign trade zone operations for the upcoming East West Trade Conference next week. No big deal, maybe 75-80 pages max with illustrations. Mostly it's what you are good at... asking lots of questions... taking lots of notes... and just getting the facts and writing them down."

"You want me to write a book on something I know nothing about?" I muttered. "Bill, this is nuts. It's 8 PM, and you spring this on me now? What's the real deal here?"

"Put simply, why me?"

"Because you're the only one left on the list," he replied. "You're not my first choice, but right now, you're my best choice."

Like any young kid, (I had just turned 21,) I had boundless energy and enthusiasm. Around campus, I projected a "bullet proof" image. While not able to actually outrun a speeding bullet... or leap over tall buildings... I could usually jump over short buildings with a running start!

"Ok, but really, what's this all about?" I asked.

"Here's the deal. Andre Johnson was supposed to write this up, but she quit today. Told me she just couldn't face the Commander. She said she would have a nervous breakdown if I sent her up there."

"What Commander? What are you talking about?" I inquired. "Just who the hell am I supposed to be interviewing for this quick and easy project?"

With every opportunity, especially opportunities that FIND you, there is ALWAYS a backstory. There is always some nagging little detail someone failed to mention that makes the circumstances rise to an opportunity that is hunting YOU down!

After an hour or so on the phone with Dr. Bill I poked and prodded enough to see why Andre quit, and why I was selected for this opportunity. Somehow, having all this information did not make me feel confident in taking the project on. I did not have any warm-fuzzies, that's for sure.

It seems that that the man I was to meet had been a German U Boat Captain in World War II. His name was Commander Helmut Zeppelin. He expatriated to the USA after the war, and found what work he could. Slowly, he had worked his way up from stevedore and deck swab on the Great Lakes, to running a small international warehouse with "free trade zone" status. By most accounts, he was a typical German: multi-lingual, precise, well-educated, demanding and dead serious about everything. He had lost his family in the war, and all he had left in the world was his knowledge and an old dog named Ottmar.

Why was I selected for the assignment? That should be obvious by now. My last name is Haas... about as German as it gets... like Smith here in the States. Dr. Bill figured that the Commander would somehow take me under his wing, simply because of my heritage. Of course, I didn't speak any German, and my family came over in 1870. Not a real bond there, I thought.

Actually, the reason I got the call had nothing whatsoever to do with me. It was that Andre's father was killed on the way to the European Theater. A U Boat sunk the transport ship he was on, causing the untimely death of everyone on board.

War, they say, is hell.

Twenty two years later, her wounds were still too fresh for her to accept the assignment. Even though she was the perfect candidate... had substantial research and writing experience... and had a real knack for business management... she, regretfully, refused the opportunity.

Thus, a huge opportunity just FOUND me. One that changed the entire direction of my life. The single point that PROVED you have to SEE, then SEIZE Opportunity when and where found.

I was barely qualified... barely competent enough to even ask decent questions. My best, and only resource for this project was my natural curiosity. I was the kid who always wanted to get to the WHY of it... and my professors respected that quality.

One resource, one opportunity. Curiosity meeting the Commander.

Of course, he hated me from the second he saw me drive into the parking lot. The fact that I had been stopped by crossing trains and was 9 minutes late didn't help. Worse, Dr. Bill hadn't called to tell him Andre wouldn't be coming and it was me he had to deal with.

Yes, you could say we got off to a rocky start... but a start it was. I asked tons of questions and he provided incredibly detailed answers. The operation was truly fascinating, as it was a legalized tax scam of the first order. They were bringing in big white VW Microbuses... (from Germany of course) cutting the roofs off... installing a popup rag top... and calling it, get this, an "RV!" By adding American labor and parts, they avoided paying thousands of dollars in import duties. Sweet!

VW made some sales it wouldn't otherwise make... about 30 American workers had jobs they wouldn't otherwise have... and the consumer got to buy an RV at far less cost. Talk about a WIN WIN WIN deal!

By the time lunch came around, Zep and I were pretty good friends. He saw to it I had clean notes, lots of forms and documents to write about... even the photocopy of the Foreign Trade Zone Law itself.

I offered to buy him lunch over at Tony Packo's and he quickly agreed. If there was one thing I learned at BG was that everybody loved free beer and Hungarian brats. Maybe this was the best bonding agent between men of different cultures ever created!

When I returned to campus, I immediately went to Dr. Bill's office to drop off my notes. It was maybe 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

"How'd it go?" Dr. Bill asked. "Did you get what you need to write it up?"

"Sure did." I said "Zep gave me everything we need to fill a 200 page book if we want."

"No need. This a quick and dirty." He said "Keep it at under 75 pages. Why not start now?"

"Now?" I replied. "What's wrong with tomorrow?"

"No, let's bang it out right now. I'll get Robbin in here to type what you write and we'll get it going."

Push... Push... Push. That was Dr. Bill's way.

From opportunity that found me... to press took exactly 5 days.

At 21, I was published!

Accidentally, of course, but published none the less.

That little guide made some real money for The Division of Business Research, as lots of businesses wanted to know how to add value and reduce the stinging bite of import duties.

I made my bones as the go to guy for "opportunity," knowing what to do with it when I found it.

Dr. Barker was thrilled that I not only learned his 3 Opportunity lesson, but was practicing it. (You will notice that he continued to check my facts well after the book was in its second printing!)

He truly believed that if he could teach his students this most basic, fundamental lesson of business, that they would ultimately find great success... especially if they get their facts right.

While I was in Grad School, Doc Ray sent us on a class trip to "find opportunity," using only "two things we knew" as the reference point. At the time, I was interested in Plastics and the Mobile Home Industry.

These were two things that I knew something about. From that 30 mile trip away from home, I noticed that Mobile Home parks were sprouting up everywhere, and that the steps leading to the front doors were unsafe and just plain ugly.

I wrote up a one pager about how there was a huge opportunity in building fiberglass (Plastics) steps for Mobile Homes. The plan was simple, the opportunity now.

From that single point of inspiration, Ray urged me to drop out of Grad School (with just my thesis to complete,) and start a business to manufacture fiberglass steps for Mobile Homes.

The rest, you might say, is history.

As you can surmise by now, I owe much of my success to Doctor Ray, who clearly articulated that the over-arching objective of business is to be Opportunity Ready... to be an Opportunity Seeker... to be an Opportunity Seizer. I tell you my early story because it is my turn to pass this priceless advice on to you.

Right now, there is more opportunity than ever before. In fact, it is accelerating at a pace never before seen in history. In every area of human endeavor.

I know, times are VERY tough. The competition is relentless. It is pure chaos out there.

But this is GREAT news for people looking for opportunity. It is in a churning economy that opportunities turn up faster and faster.

Without question, every business in the world is facing tough conditions right now. The key to success is to out-hustle... out-work... out-smart... out-produce... and out-perform the competition at every step.

There will be winners. There will be losers.

Times are going to get a whole lot tougher before they get any easier.

Which is why we wrote the Golden Game of Business Success Series... to help you WIN this fabulous game of business. A game I have truly come to love.

About The Golden Game of Business Success Series...

You are now reading Book 1 of the Series: Playing the Game to WIN. Here you will learn the RULES of the game... the playbook for enduring success. You will learn why businesses fail and how to avoid becoming a fatality.

In Book 2 of the Series: Planning to WIN, you will hold in your hands the single most important document in the world... a custom-produced, 200 page analysis of your businesses strengths and weaknesses... an evaluation that will lead you to Stage-4 Greatness. (See back of this book for special offer.)

We'll get to Book 3 in a moment. In Book 4 of the Series: Creating Gold Mines, we give you 25 highly motivational and inspirational success stories about people who — just like you — turned their businesses into real gold mines. The theme is always the same: Solid Gold Success requires Solid Gold Performance. It requires you to THINK Strategically... ACT Tactically... and EXECUTE Brilliantly. This is another eBook, found in the MyBizIQ.com Download Center.

Now, about the wisdom found in Book 3 of The Golden Game of Business Series: Achieving The Winner's Mindset™. It too is an eBook found in the MyBizIQ.com Download Center.

It is a given that we are correct in our approach to business success. No one can dispute that to play the game, and do it successfully, you must know — and fully understand — the rules of the game.

No one can dispute that to win the game of business, you must PLAN to WIN. Remember, a goal without a plan is merely a wish without a hope. If the goal is winning the gold... you must have a golden plan. Again, this is a truth with no exceptions.

No one can dispute that to win the game of business, you must PLAY to WIN. With all your heart and soul powering your every action. Call it passion... call it focus... call it force of will... call it anything you want... but to WIN, you must PLAY the game to WIN... or, as every champion who has ever won any game advises... don't play at all.

Which gets us to YOU, the PLAYER.

It is you, the leader who is leading your team to the goal.

It is you, the man or woman reading this book that we must train to THINK Strategically.

It is you who we must train to ACT Tactically.

It is you, the executive who we must train to EXECUTE Brilliantly.

Ultimately, it is you who we must show HOW to ACHIEVE The Winner's Mindset™ if we are to help you succeed.

This is a much bigger deal than you might imagine.

To do this, we must teach you how to SEE and SEIZE Opportunity... at a rate much faster than you have ever done before.

Is this "trainable" you might ask? The answer is absolutely. Doc Ray taught it to me, and we are going to teach it to you.

As you will learn, your ability to succeed in business is predicated on what psychologists call your "Self-efficacy." Self-efficacy is your BELIEF in your POWER to produce the RESULTS you EXPECT. For simplicity purposes, it is defined as "learned optimism"... your ability to SEE through all the negativity... all the crap... all the drama... all the problems, happenstances, circumstances and the "stories" you tell yourself — through ALL that clutter... to the opportunity just beyond your current field of vision.

"Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities — always see them — for they're always there."

"Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds." ~ Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Study, really study the above quote. As simple as it is, it has the seeds of your of greatness in it.

The art of the possible is the provence of the winners.

Negative, impossible thinking is the hallmark of the losers.

Consider the innate, inescapable logic of a man who might be considered the most positive and optimistic thought leader alive today...

"Impossibility thinkers are people who make swift, sweeping passes over a proposed idea, scanning it with a sharp negative eye, looking only for the distasteful aspects. They look for reasons why something won't work instead of visualizing ways in which it could work. So they are inclined to say 'No' to a proposal, never giving the idea a fair hearing."

"Impossibility thinkers are people who immediately, impulsively, instinctively, and impetuously react to any positive suggestion with a sweeping, unstudied, irresponsible assortment of reasons why it can't be done, or why it is a bad idea, or how someone else tried it and failed, or (and this is usually their clinching argument) how much it will cost!"

"Impossibility thinkers are people who suffer from a perilous mental malignancy I call the impossibility complex. They are problem imaginators, failure predictors, trouble visualizers, obstacle envisioners, exaggerated-cost estimators."

"If you are surrounded by friends who are impossibility thinkers, then it's time to replace those so-called friends with possibility thinkers. These special people are fewer in number, but one or two possibility thinkers in your world can replace a whole passel of impossibility thinkers." ~ Dr. Robert Schuller, Sr.

In all 4 Books of the Golden Game of Business Success Series, we are going to ask you to become a Possibility Thinker... to PLAN to WIN and PLAY to WIN... to SEE and SEIZE a host of new opportunities you never even considered were available to you.

Long ago, I learned these lessons at the hands of a great Master. I still remember Doc Ray telling me that I had to stay open, so opportunity could find me. I had to adopt the Julius Cesar Management Philosophy who had it down pat: "I came. I saw. I conquered." WOW... not THAT's both efficient and effective management!

Now it's my turn to show you the simple to understand PROCESS behind winning the Golden Game of Business. It all starts with your HOPE and BELIEF in the future. Believe that by increasing your Self-efficacy, you will be OPEN FOR BUSINESS... that you will create new opportunities where there were only problems... that you will actively hunt down the opportunity in every problem... and that you become a magnate for opportunity to find YOU.

So that you have the background to immediately benefit from Books 1 and 2, we have detailed the thinking from above in this 4 step pictorial.

Success in business starts with SEEING beyond the problems to the opportunity lurking just below the surface. It means shifting your field of vision and adopting a whole new view point as Alan Kay opined when he said "Point of view is worth 80 IQ points."

It starts to crystalize in your thoughts and dreams when you turn down the noise and look at the possibilities and potentialities within your problems. Your random feelings and the buzz in your brain starts to turn into coherent, fully formed thoughts. You start to SEE and start to BELIEVE.

Opportunity drowns out all the background drama and circumstances when you triangulate your Values, Vision and Roles into an unstoppable sense of Mission and Purpose. Your Mission takes center-stage and you move from absolute CLARITY to total CONVICTION that what you are doing is the RIGHT thing to be doing.

Finally, you become absolutely and unconditionally COMMITTED to the prize inside the opportunity... which gives you the COURAGE of your convictions... the courage to take the bold actions to make your dreams real.

No doubt, the goal is always within your GRASP when you learn to extend your REACH. In these 4 Golden Books, we will help you bracket and reduce the complexities inherent within business... and give you the tools to turn your company into a veritable gold mine.

In these 4 Golden Books, you will see your problems in a whole new light. This is the first step in turning you into an opportunity seeker.

You will learn to focus your precious time and attention on moving BEYOND solutions and finding the seeds of opportunity inherent within every problem.

Follow along and you will discover the Winner's Mindset™ within. You will develop the 4 C's driving every winner: Clarity... Conviction... Commitment... and Courage.

The simple truth is, Doc Ray was right. Enduring success — wealth... power... happiness — all stem from your ability to SEE and SEIZE Opportunity. Do this, and you will find inventive, innovative and highly creative new ways to serve a growing customer base... globally.

Doc Ray would say, "You have real talent. You were born to WIN. All you need to do is pay attention to my dear friend, E. R. Haas... who took what he learned from me as a student... and became a pretty darn good teacher."

Who am I to disagree?

So, Why Should You Take Business Advice From Me?

As you can tell from the short story above, I truly love business. The ups, the downs, the thrill of winning really turns me on.

Over the years, I have become a serial entrepreneur, having started 15 different businesses — some wildly successful, and some that almost bankrupted me.

Almost.

I am one of those guys you read about who turned their MBA Thesis into a $150 million business out of grad school... a business that, as of this writing, is still the worlds leading producer of products and services for the manufactured housing industry.

I especially want to thank my old partner, Tom Kern for taking our ideas and running with them. He is, if nothing, a brilliant Industrial Engineer, Production Manager and now, Senior Executive! Look up Style Crest Products or Poly-Foam International. You will see that, as of today, he and his 500 employees are still building the steps we sketched out back in 1968.

From this springboard, I started, bought and sold businesses in manufacturing, plastics, finance, insurance, sales, publishing, software, high tech development and of course, Internet Publishing.

Generally starting with nothing more than "just an idea", these businesses have sold billions upon billions of dollars worth of products and services.

By most accounts I am SMART and I am RICH... with tremendous options and opportunities available to me daily. In fact, it is my goal to create the next multi-billion dollar internet company over the next 36 months, by creating the tools and technology to dead-stop the insane small business failure rate.

The sad truth is that small and medium sized businesses fail for all the wrong reasons.

Needlessly.

In fact, it just rankles me the wrong way that some 44% of businesses started this year will not even make it to their third birthday.

Study the chart below. The purple line is the existing business failure rate... and it is getting worse, not better.

This really breaks my heart.

Over HALF the businesses started this year won't be alive in 4 years.

What a waste!

Which is what drives me, and my small team of zealots, to actually SOLVE this insidious, heartbreaking PROBLEM.

"You cannot solve the problem with the same level of thinking
that created it." ~Albert Einstein

Think about the magnitude of this problem. A SEVENTY PERCENT FAILURE RATE (70%) over time.

Think about the impact on families, employees and communities. Failure is an equal misery enforcer.

Think about the sheer emotional, physical and financial COSTS. Failed businesses cost the economy at large TRILLIONS of dollars... directly and indirectly.

So, how do we expect to actually SOLVE this insidious problem? Great question!

By taking a totally different, fresh new approach to achieving business success of course. After all, if the existing approach was WORKING, it would show in the results, right?

If the current "level of thinking" was making the grade, we wouldn't even be talking about a business failure misery index, would we? Things would be rolling fast and loose... everyone living large... and the only worries would be where to invest our easy money!

For us to SOLVE this problem, we have to stop living in the past... stop addressing REASONS, circumstances and happenstances... and scientifically address the real CAUSE of business failure.

Remember, for every CAUSE there is an EFFECT... positive or negative.

Inside the 4 Book Golden Game of Business Success Series you will find the keys to YOUR SUCCESS. The GREAT NEWS is that the to solution the problem is remarkably straightforward.

It may seem difficult to believe that we have found the "Golden Grail" of business success. We not only found it, we are going to give it to you!

When I was struggling with running my first businesses — way back in 1966 — I would have gladly paid $10,000 for the insights found in these 4 books. Later in my career, I was charging $25,000 — 50,000... sometimes a great deal more... to provide this same type of business counseling to individual companies... one at a time.

At this point in my life, it is my personal mission to make MyBizIQ, Inc. the highest value, lowest cost provider of business advice and support services dedicated to the survival and success of companies just like yours.

My job number 1, priority number one, is to make YOU wealthy... and show you how to have a lot of FUN doing it!

As proof of my commitment to this mission, I am making the Golden Game of Business Success: Playing to WIN... and the MyBizIQ Test freely available to every business in the world... all 415 million of them... starting right now with you.

All I ask in return is that you tell all your friends and associates about MyBizIQ.com... seriously consider your options... and include us in your plans.

Author's Notes...

The Golden Game of Business Success Series has been written by an entire team of people working on various aspects of Project TQ over the past 18 years. This may well comprise the most significant research in the area of measuring and improving business success ever undertaken.

Principal writing and storytelling has been penned by me, Eric R. Haas, Founder and CEO of ThinkTQ, Inc. and MyBizIQ, Inc. with the exceptional prowess from my business partner, Kent C. Madson, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the Board. So, when you see the word "I," please read it in my voice.

When you encounter the word "We," view it as a collective "we" representing myself, Kent and the one hundred additional individuals it took to deliver the facts, ideas and wisdom brought together in this unique work. It would be simply impossible for me to do the work without Kent's brilliant support.

Because I am a very positive and enthusiastic person, you will find what most editors consider an excessive use of exclamation points, CAPITALIZED WORDS — and long dashes to emphasize a point! This is intentional.

My job is to educate you... to motivate you... to challenge you... to prompt you to first improve your point of view — and then improve your business.

Kent and I share a deep, heartfelt desire to help you. We long to see you break out of any business-as-usual or status quo thinking patterns that serve only to limit your potential and dim your vision of the person you can become in the days ahead. This is especially true of your business prowess.

Should we sound a bit too "rah-rah," please forgive us. We are Passionate about this Discipline. We are absolutely convinced we can help you. Years of testing, retesting, and interacting with hundreds of thousands of individuals all over the globe have reinforced our belief that the concepts and exercises in this book can and will change BOTH... your business and personal life.

If we come across as a little too pushy, please remember: that's our job.

Our job is to push and prod you towards living a life of happiness, satisfaction and significance on a daily basis. Our job is to help you turn your hard work into unstoppable results.

With respect to your business, our stated objective is to "help you turn your company into a high-output, eco-friendly gold mine!" Follow our advice and you will find doing this to be a LOT easier than you might imagine.

Sure you can still expect to burn long hours... and work your tail off... but in the end... you can WIN the Golden Game of Business. BUT, contrast this to people who continue to employ the age-old "Trial and Error" method and they too will burn long hours... work their tails off... and FAIL. In this "survival of the smartest" global economy, you simply cannot afford business as usual, status quo thinking.

Take this book seriously, read each chapter for comprehension (rather than a quick gloss-over) and you will fully understand how we can make this bold promise!

We also realize that you are looking for specific answers to some rather complex issues. In a clear-cut, definitive style we will answer two of your biggest questions:

1. What EXACTLY does it take to WIN the game of business?

2. What SPECIFICALLY must I DO to turn your company into a Stage-4 Success?

Do the work in this book and you will have your answers.