Did quite a bit of recording the last couple days for the Four Pillars book video series. We are now recorded up to Chapter 12, it may take a bit to get them all up.
Chapter 7 - Organizational Structure and Process
Great work on this, the Four Pillars video library is really coming together. In a few years many new entrepreneurs will be very thankful that they got the opportunity to receive all this crucial information for free.
It is amazing how much we have already accomplished. This has been made possible because of the strong support that I have been getting from a rather large team. Let us take another look at the "Acknowledgement" directly from the book:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSOver the course of my time on this Earth, I have discovered that there are only a few things in life that I am really passionate about. Chief among those things are gardening, cooking, and business. My love for the soil led me to spend seven years helping to build Smokeys Daylily gardens into one of the largest daylily growers in the world. I’d also long dreamed of writing a cookbook so that my grandchildren might one day be able to recreate many of grandpa’s dishes that they so loved in their childhood years. That has yet to happen, largely because I am mindful of the tremendous commitment in time and effort that such an endeavor would entail.
That third passion is the one that brings us to these pages today. My forty years of business experience have been filled with intermittent suggestions from others that I write a book like this. And it is probably something that I should have done before now, but – just as with my earlier plan to write a cookbook – I recognized that I would need to make a substantial commitment if I was to produce the sort of business book that could actually be of service to entrepreneurs.
Oddly enough (and as so often happens with these things), it was my involvement in another business endeavor that lit a fire under me to finally get to work on this project. It started about a year after I founded DNotes – a Bitcoin alternative digital currency, in an industry that is perhaps best known for its lack of central control and sound leadership. I had convinced the DNotes team that the best strategy for us to be successful on a long-term basis was to manage DNotes as a business without actually controlling it as one.
My belief was that this approach would enable DNotes to maintain the vital characteristic of remaining decentralized. At the same time, we focused on developing our centralized ecosystem while providing leadership guidance to our community and DNotes. I ended up utilizing every bit of my business experience and leadership skills and built a couple of awesome online communities that eventually became instrumental in making the writing of this book possible.
This has been an amazing experience of teamwork and collaboration in a global setting. I am most grateful to the DNotes and CryptoMoms communities for their encouragement and support. I am particularly indebted to Theodore (Joe) Hauenstein and Kevin DeLucenay for their endless support and encouragement. Joe, in particular, has made significant contributions to make the publishing of this book possible. I am most grateful to the DCEBrief’s team led by Ken Chase, along with Cindy Williamson, Marc Fortenberry, Chris Cooper, and Timothy Goggin; providing me with great research and editing support. Timothy has been most helpful in narrating the DNotes story with editing help from Fernanda Powers, who also contributed to the writing of the Smokeys Gardens’ story. Additionally, I like to express my thanks and appreciation to Robert, Brandon, Mark, Nele, and many others who assisted in different ways to make the publishing of this book a success.
I am most grateful to everyone who has generously supported my Kickstarter campaign for the launching of this book project. I trust that it will go a long way to help this book realize its goal of being a helpful resource for small business owners and those who are thinking about starting new businesses.
Above all, I am deeply indebted to my family - and most especially my dear wife Lucy for her love, encouragement, and support to see me through.
I am eternally grateful to all who have taught me well, including George Williams College, and Northern Illinois University where I earned my MBA over forty years ago.
This book is dedicated to small business owners worldwide. May you all find the success you seek, and see all your dreams come true.
With best wishes and kind regards,
Alan Yong
