Steven Schragis - 250 Rules of Business: Secrets to Growing Your Career and Profits

250 RULES of BUSINESS

Steven Schragis is one of the smartest guys I know. When it comes to business, he knows every angleincluding what to say and how to say it!

Donald Trump

Rick is my go-to guy for book publicity and marketing. I trust him deeply and hes earned his reputation as an expert, a creative confidante, and the best book publicist in the nation.

Brendon Burchard, Author, THE CHARGE, and
The Millionaire Messenger, Founder, High
Performance Academy and Experts Academy

There are only ten people who understand and have mastered the book publishing processRick Frishman is one of themI have counseled him, listened to him, and watched the books he promoted turn to gold. If youre looking for someone to take your book to the promised land, I promise that Rick Frishman is the rocket ship that will take you there.

Jeffrey Gitomer, Founding Partner at Ace of Sales

Secrets to Growing
Your Career and Profits

Steven Schragis and Rick Frishman

250 RULES of BUSINESS

Secrets to Growing Your Career and Profits

2014 Steven Schragis and Rick Frishman. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-1-61448-516-2 paperback
ISBN 978-1-61448-517-9 eBook
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013933692

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To my wife Donna,
this book could never have been written
without your love and encouragement
STEVEN SCHRAGIS

To my wife Robbi, with love and thanks
RICK FRISHMAN

Starting, managing and growing a business isnt easy, and everyone is quick to offer you differing advice. Thousands of business books, articles, programs, courses, and workshops insist that they have the answers. Many of them are superficial, theoretical, impractical, or unclear, and they often contradict each. It all gets confusing and you dont know where to turn.

Over the years, weve had the good fortune to meet, work with, and spend considerable time with many highly respected and successful business leaders. These individuals have worked in the trenches, solved the hard problems, rallied the troops, and risen to the top of their fields where they harvested record profits. Many of these leaders have become our teachers, mentors, colleagues, and friends. Weve watched them operate, conducted business with them, and benefited from their advice.

We made it our practice to ask them to share a single business insight with usa basic rule, practice, or belief that played an important role in their success. Some of the responses we received were basic, intuitive, and items that we already knew. But others were amazing and eye opening; they constantly made us stop and think.

The point is, as Yogi Berra said, you can observe a lot by just watching. So we wrote them down and spent time examining if and how they could work for us. Then we tried to apply them to our businesses, careers, and other aspects of our lives.

Steven Schragis
Rick Frishman

If the issue is serious, never make a decision on the spot unless you absolutely have to. Think it over for a few minutes, an evening, or a weekend, and then go into the office with your answer. Give yourself the time you need to avoid the mistakes that often result from haste.

WHAT IT MEANS: Clearly, decisions can vary considerably in their urgency, importance, and complexityand so no one rule of thumb fits allbut you should never be pressured into giving a quick yes or no before youve given yourself adequate time to think it through. At the end of the day, its much more about the quality of your decisions than the time it took to make them.

ACTION PLAN: Make it a point to never make an instant decision if there isnt a compelling reason to do so. Make sure you have the facts. And then go grab a cup of coffee or take a walk around the block or resolve to sleep on it. More often than not, you have the right to give yourself a little time to breatheand think it over.

EVEN BETTER: Write it down! List the pros and cons of making your decision one way or another. Listing and evaluating the relevant considerations and potential consequences can be a very useful tool for helping you to think things through. And the very process itself can be a healthy brake on the tendency to make snap decisions.

This is the one thing you can always do to improve business relationships and reinforce your reputation for reliability: Deliver what you promise. In fact, you should even take it one step further. If at all possible, strive to deliver a little more than promisedor a day or two ahead of schedule. When it comes to being perceived as a reliable professional, there is no margin of error for keeping your word.