When I started my business career fifty years ago, life was much simpler. The rules for running a successful company were also simpler. Customers were glad to get products and services and didn’t fret the details too much. All of that has changed. Customers now have many choices and very high expectations. If companies do not execute with precision, the customer silently vanishes.
Today, you shouldn’t start a business unless you have fire in the belly, a drive to be the best at what you do, and a willingness to pay the price for success.
I retired from my accounting and consulting practice a few years ago—and truthfully—I just wanted to rest for a while. My entrepreneurial career left me with some battle fatigue and a diploma from the school of hard knocks.
However, in the last few years of my career, I stumbled onto something—something quite amazing—that now gets me out of my rocking chair each day.
I am somewhat of a quiet accountant type, not prone to a lot of hype. I like plain truth. In fact, I am a seeker of truth and have little patience for the bloated advertising and misinformation that fill our digital world. I wrote an ebook, Box Theory™: Double Your Profit with High-Performance Business Systems and Processes, that contains many truths that are little-known but essential for business owners to understand. I’m going to give it to you for free. Please keep reading.
In The Beginning
Several years ago, I began to teach my accounting clients how to use financial statements to pinpoint the under-performing areas of their business. This led to an interest in business systems and processes that grew into a passion. I eventually developed a two-day workshop that generated a lot of interest.
One evening while vacationing in Carlsbad, California, I watched a program on the Discovery Channel entitled, “String Theory—the Theory of Everything.” I was intrigued to learn that scientists now believe that very tiny strings of energy, far beyond our ability to see through a microscope, are the foundation of all matter.
Do you remember from chemistry class that matter is made of molecules, molecules are made of atoms, and atoms are made of atomic particles (protons, electrons, and neutrons)? Since I took chemistry, they have discovered quarks inside the atomic particles. Now, physicists have mathematically proven that these energy “strings” are the basis of everything in our universe.
It struck me that big things in our world contain important small things, which are made of even smaller things—all interdependent. If anything goes wrong with the smaller thing, the effect is felt all the way up the line. Cancer cells can destroy an organ. Organ failure will shut down a system within the body. And a system shutdown can cause the body to die.
The concept reminded me of a poem quoted by Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanac.
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost,
For want of the shoe, the horse was lost,
For want of the horse, the rider was lost.
For want of the rider, the message was lost.
For want of the message, the battle was lost.
For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Often, we don’t realize the influence that seemingly small things have on events and outcomes in our lives. This includes our business. Consider this:
For want of a minute, a phone call was lost,
For want of a call, a conversation was lost,
For want of a conversation, a relationship was lost,
For want of a relationship, an order was lost,
For want of an order, the revenue was lost,
For want of the revenue, a business was lost.
And all for the want of a minute to make a phone call.
This poem won’t be published anytime soon, but you get the idea. In business, we must pay attention to the details—the small things that affect the important things.
Consider for a moment what you are reading right now. The alphabet is a system of twenty-six symbols or letters used for communication. By arranging the letters in a certain order, I create words with meaning. By grouping words together, I can form a sentence that expresses a complete thought. Several sentences form a paragraph. Linked paragraphs create a complete story. Letters, then, are my building blocks for writing this article. If they get out of order, I will fail to communicate with you. How I arrange the letters is what sets me apart from all other writers.
Drilling down on a written document might look something like this:
The big idea from this is that we live in a world of systems, the components of which are smaller systems and subsystems, all working together for the good of the whole. Important activities are going on at every level down to minutest detail. To improve the outcome of a higher-level system (sentence), you must fix or improve the flaws of a lower-level system (words or letters; e.g. misspelled word).
One day in a business improvement workshop, I was flowcharting a system on the whiteboard—creating boxes for each step with the arrows between. In a momentary flash, I realized that an entire organization is made of flowchart boxes that are connected, and, which influence one another. In the days that followed, the concept of Box Theory™ emerged, a unique way of looking at the structure of any organization.
Box Theory™ has taken me on a journey of discovery far more important than I ever imagined. It has literally changed my life, not just my business career. I have a new and inspired view of the world—how things work together and affect each other—that makes it possible to see solutions to problems clearly and quickly, and how to improve any task or process for maximum results. It’s really quite extraordinary!
My Gift To You
My purpose for writing the Box Theory™ ebook is to give business owners and organization leaders a new way to look at their business—in high-definition—that will enable them to compete in a crowded and unforgiving marketplace. Box Theory™ is not weird science, but natural and intuitive. It is not based on strange new techniques, but upon rock-solid and proven principles that are used every day by successful organizations (see more about Box Theory™).
Truthfully, Box Theory™ is the way you already do things, without realizing it. Now, your effort will be planned, systematic, and far more effective. You will have a powerful “system” for creating your business systems.
The timeless truths that you learn in this course will provide the foundation for a life-long business career. Perhaps like me, you will see the application of Box Theory™ in every aspect of your life.
… Fourteen years have gone by since writing this article and I have now retired. As a gift to all my business friends, you can now get my ebook and Box Theory™ Gold software (for Windows PCs only) absolutely FREE. No strings attached. Download the product here.
My only hope is that with this powerful information you will become a Box Theory™ enthusiast and practitioner, and can create a truly remarkable business enterprise!
