Abraham - Entrepreneurial DNA: the breakthrough discovery that aligns your business to your unique strengths

The Breakthrough Discovery that Aligns Your Business to Your Unique Strengths

JOE ABRAHAM

Copyright 2011 by Joe Abraham. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-176014-0
MHID: 0-07-176014-8

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Id like to dedicate this book to my boys, JJ and Zach. Heres hoping the entrepreneurial bug bites you too someday.

To my awesome wife and best friend Sally, thank you for your unconditional love, patience and care as I went through my entrepreneurial journey. Youve been my greatest cheerleader and inspiration and I thank God for giving me the gift of you. To mom and dad, thank you for your loving support and favor as I negotiated the ups and downs of the journey.

To my agent Cynthia Zigmund and the team at Literary Services, Inc., thank you for believing in this first-time author and putting your name on the line to bring it to such a fantastic publisher. Your insight, input and candid feedback during the proposal stage were mission critical to this book project becoming a reality.

To Knox Huston my brilliant editor, thank you for the passion with which you sold this project to the team at McGraw Hill Professional. I am also indebted to you for guiding me through the editing process and adding your incredible talent to the output of this book. Entrepreneurial DNA would not be what it is today without your contributions. Sara Hendricksen at McGraw Hillyou rock. I would also like to thank McGraw-Hill production editor Scott Kurtz and copy editor Nina Levy Girard for your outstanding work.

Special appreciation goes to my friend Garry Arasmith who was BOSIs biggest proponent right after the discovery. Thanks G for not letting me shelf the concept like I kept trying to do. Your persistent commitment to see BOSI impact businesses around the world was a key driver to me sitting down and working on the book manuscript.

Steve Thompson, thank you for believing in me and this project long before there was a measurable reason to do so. Rob Armstrong, you da man. The Opportunist in you kept me fired up and tank full even when the reality said otherwise. Trey Morris, your friendship and partnership have been of immeasurable value. Weve got a great journey ahead of us. Lukas Naugle, my brand and content strategist--you are the bat that breaks any box I put myself in. Thank you for that.

Last but by no means the least, to my mentors, business partners, and clients, thank you for allowing me into your businesses and lives. Theres a part of every single one of you in this book. From the highest highs to the lowest lows we have shared together, we learned lessons about business and entrepreneurial life that are now encapsulated in this work. I hope you are proud to know that your story now stands to impact the lives and businesses of entrepreneurs around the world.

I vividly remember the experience of watching my first-ever television show. It was the late 1970s in New Delhi, India. Dad didnt see the point of us owning a TV, given that there was one national channel that delivered a few hours of fuzzy programming each evening. Our neighbors, however, had just bought a brand-new TV and invited me and my sisters to come over on a Wednesday night to watch an American show with them.

I was just beside myself in excitement. Not only was I going to get to see what a TV looked like, I was going to get my first real taste of America! I dont think I slept very well the night before. I remember tossing and turning in glee, just hoping and praying for daybreak so I could begin the official countdown to that coveted experience.

The day of the event, I remember bragging to my friends at school and on the playground about my elite invitation for later that night. By the time 8 p.m. arrived on the clock, I was bouncing off the walls. No sooner did my mom give us the okay to walk politely over to the neighbors house, than I was pounding on their door, begging to be let in. A few minutes later, we were sitting cross-legged on a beautiful Persian rug, ready to take in the entire experience. Who cares about the food and drink? I remember thinking to myself, Lets get this amazing device turned on!

When the lady of the house finally walked over to turn the unit on, my heart skipped a beat. A few seconds of snowy fuzz eventually gave way to the breathtaking black-and-white footage of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo bantering back and forth on the