To me the most practical way to salvation, is to start with myself.  Once I get my own act together, I try to create a business that works.  Get everyone healthy in that business. Then, I try to be a positive influence on the community and market.  If I am fortunate enough to be seen as an example for others to follow, then there is a chance that this approach could lead to general salvation of others.  This is primarily a social movement to success.

Using the Thesaurus to look up words for "Big"; I find "great, generous, free, tremendous, sizable, etc."  Under the word "Small" I find "runt, peewee, weak, dinky, soft, sordid, etc."  The basis for our thinking about success is built into our language, no wonder we naturally equate Bigger with Better.

Small has inferiority written all over it.  Small business seems to mean, "not yet a REAL business".  Public policy is crafted to favor bigger businesses. Young career minded workers want to land the position with the big firm. We all know that "Small" means something else as well.  It means taking the time to know all of our customers and fixing the deal to make it right.  It means providing for local needs, hiring local workers and supporting community initiatives.  Small means doing things with quality at the base.

People are getting tired of dealing with big business.  Pollution, hierarchy, unemployment, commuting, politics and exploitation are all byproducts.  The trend is to shop local, work close to or at home, and support the community.

The trend in business is "Small".  Small business that runs well, has to grow into a larger and larger business.  Smart business people are putting systems into place that will assure no matter how "Big" their business gets, it will still look, think and act like a "Small" business.

Leadership is absolutely critical to the healthy dynamic of a group.

Inconsistency of leadership will lead to chaos and confusion within the group due to its multiplying effect.  Where this occurs most often is the failure to recognize and include the informal leadership that exists within the group. Outstanding leadership makes incompetence its archenemy.  The group is the power behind all significant accomplishment. Incompetence is like a cancer within the group, eating at the health of its dynamic.

The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Good leadership identifies the weak links and applies the three T approach. Train, Transfer or Terminate.

Incompetence is reflected only by objective measures if it is going to be rooted out.  Acting on subjective information might remove the incompetence, but also weakens leadership. This is why it is so important to set measurable standards of performance. Since we are primarily dealing with people, when dealing with business, we want to establish here that Health is our basic value system. The Health of the business can be measured by profitability, but that is balanced with customer and employee satisfaction and happines.

The SoloSkills vision is "Pursue Health, Wealth Will Follow".

Instead of the terms functional and dysfunctional, which carry additional baggage, we want to use a scale of healthy to unhealthy.  We feel it has a more realistic tone and will make talking about relative things more meaningful to all of us. The primary health that we are pursuing is the health of the relationship between the business and the market.  A prerequisite to that is the relationship of individuals within the business, or the health of the group. Particular activities or behaviors can be described on a scale form unhealthy to healthy and a minimum of blame is created.  We are all somewhere in the middle of this scale and striving to be healthier.

I can be creative in a way that will support others in finding the creativity in themselves.  And I can do this work in the healthiest natural environment this planet has to offer, my own home.

In the past I was willing to LET life happen and do my learning from the necessary, but frustrating experiences.

Now I see the opening, to MAKE life happen and learn new skills from fulfilling and rich experience.

It’s a change in confidence, from coping energy to creating energy.

Every relationship I have has been transformed by my desire to put in, instead of get out.  The results of this energy yield feelings of health and success in every meeting. I no longer live in the unhealthy world of another's creation, but see myself playing a part in a much larger act of creation and transformation.

Work is not just work, but life.