What I Learned Book

	A Confession of Plagiarism	xiii
	Selling to the World's Best Investor	xv
	Know Thyself: What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur	xxiii
Part I	Managing	1
1	Concern Yourself with Only the Controllables	3
2	Making Your Business Different	5
3	Highest and Best Use of Your Time	9
4	Super Service: Friend to the Entrepreneur	12
5	Keeping Customers	18
6	Your Complaining Customers: Your Greatest Opportunity	20
7	Managing Risk	23
8	Should Incentives Be Based on Profit or Volume?	27
9	Consultants: Bane or Bargain?	29
10	Keeping Your Ego in Check	31
11	Setting Specific Measurable Goals	34
12	Believing in People	36
13	Never Burn a Bridge	39
14	Planning for Disaster	41
15	Turnaround Time at Helzberg Diamonds	43
16	Testing New Ideas: Stacking Your Deck for Success	46
17	How to Avoid Overreacting to Problems	50
18	Integrity: A Long-Run Profit Maker	52
19	Having Fun	54
20	What Are Profits For?	57
21	A Sense of Urgency	60
22	Execution Is the Key, Not the Idea	62
Part II	Decision Making	65
23	Learning and Growing from Your Mistakes	67
24	The Paralysis of Analysis versus Knee-Jerk Decisions	70
25	Embracing Growing Markets	73
26	Borrowing Wisdom and Knowledge about Your Business	75
27	Gathering Information	79
28	Following Your Gut: When You Should Trust Your Own Feelings	83
29	Priceless Information: Focus Groups	87
30	Treasure the Contrarian: Why Constructive Criticism Is Healthy	91
31	Sticking by Your Overall Objective: Why a Quick Profit Can Be a Bad Detour	94
32	On Not Giving Up!	96
33	On Giving Up!	98
34	Judging Your Customer's World, Not Your Own World	101
35	Do You View Your Associates As Go-Getters or Slackers?	103
36	The Positive Fallout from Enron	105
37	How to Have Uncanny Luck	107
38	Prehistoric Man Looks at Going Public	109
39	What Did I Learn?	111
40	How to Raise Your Prices	113
41	An Open Letter to the Entrepreneur to Be	115
42	Should You Make the Plunge?	118
Part III	Hiring	121
43	Hiring Wisely: How to Choose Good People	123
44	When to Look Outside or Stay Inside to Fill That Job	130
45	Hiring the Right Lawyer, CPA, or Other Professional	133
46	Building on Everyone's Strengths	135
47	Selling to and Hiring Friends and Relatives	138
Part IV	Inspiring	141
48	Recognizing Great Work: How to Motivate Associates	143
49	Encouraging High Achievers	147
50	Leaving Your Campsite Better Than You Found It!	151
51	Ownership	154
52	On Humility and Arrogance	156
53	When Bad News Is Good News	159
54	Expectations	161
55	Unintended Consequences	163
Part V	Communicating	167
56	Digging Out the Answer	169
57	How to Kill New Ideas and Communication	172
58	Listening and Learning: Why Silence Is a Valuable Skill	174
59	Mentors: Pro and Con	176
60	Building and Retaining Your Credibility	179
61	The Question Is Not, "Are You Teaching?" The Question Is, "What Are You Teaching?"	182
62	Dignifying Every Task: How to Win Your Associates' Commitment and Use Their Expertise	185
63	Asking: The Best Communication	188
64	Negotiating: Learn It or Delegate It	189
65	In Marketing, Don't Say It--Be It	191
66	Preparing for Controversial Meetings	193
67	Shortening Those Damm Meetings and Making Them More Effective!	195
68	Marty Ross's Magic Follow-Up System	199
69	Your Struggle to Get Honest Feedback	202
70	To Lunch or Not to Lunch with Your Client, Supplier, or Associate	205
71	Avoid Those Buzzwords and Alphabet Soup	207
72	Should You Communicate Your Success?	209
73	Avoiding the Use of "I"--and Using It Properly	211
74	No Surprises	213
75	Care and Feeding of Your Associates	215
76	Care and Feeding of Your Suppliers	218
77	Care and Feeding of Your Lenders	220
Part VI	Focusing	223
78	What Business Are You Really In?	225
79	Balancing Your Life ... Work, Play, Children, Health, and Money	228
80	Giving Back	231
Appendix A	Recommended Readings	233