In Chapter Nine of Sun Zi Art of War, Sun Zi mentioned the principles of deploying troops in four terrains. They are mountainous region, water bodies, salty swamps and marshes, level terrain. Now comes the second part of the series, water bodies. Read on to find out.

A business owner has to be clear about why s/he's in business, what his/her responsibilities in running the business are, when to go for it and when to get out, how the business potential can be maximized and why the business is there in the first place. The Business Owner's Manifesto makes the key issues clear.

We have all heard the old adage, “Never Assume,” but we do it anyway. We assume the paycheck will come on the expected day. We assume others will do their job or do what they say. We are always assuming. What “Never assume” really means is that we need to be aware of our assumptions and often, test them. This is of great importance to any organization that considers itself a learning organization.

Whether you're just starting up or you're already established, this critical factor is an essential part of any business. Once you understand the cash needs of your company you are far more likely to succeed. And if you ignore it then you could soon be joining many others in business failure.

Why do we use experts? To predict the future. Consider a patient who is asking a physician about the future effects of a certain drug, or the investor who is asking a stock analyst about the future prices of a certain stock, or the manager who is asking a human resource manager about the future performance of a certain candidate, or the brand manager who is asking a market researcher about the future sales of a certain new product. Should we believe these experts? History tells us that accurate predictions of the future are rare. Many examples exist where the brightest and most qualified individuals failed to see the future. This series of articles presents examples from the arts (see part I), business (see part II), and science (see part III).

Many people believe it will never happen, that a Bird Flu Pandemic killing millions of people racing through the country cannot occur. Yet in recent history; the last 400 years there have countless incidents where pandemics have wiped out millions of people and very rapidly too.

In our studies of Akron, OH we find a few anomalies that you do not typically find in cities of this size in the United States. Akron Economic Researcher at the Downtown 17th floor chamber building in Akron tells of Firestone, Rubbermaid and other Corporate HQ leaving the city. Akron of course has suburbs benefiting greatly from the Cleveland Metro area much like Dayton has from Columbus OH.