By Bryan Long

Author of Failing Successfully

A Psychological Business Thriller

Lead-In

Who Stole the Business Models?

This story is taking place right now in the world of business, ecommerce and customer survival-ship.

Who ever wins the psychological battle for the customers loyalty and dollars wins the game.

May the best Business Model conquer the world!

The Four Contenders in this Thriller are:

Mr. and Mrs. eCoe. They offer the wisest and most lucrative business model of all!

Mz ‘W’ offers a very strong relational basis that is inter-dependent on all of the W’s sharing the secret. The Corporation is an all-consuming serve me and you will get paid mind set. And Bad Government simply wants to medal in everyone’s business, screw it up and then charge you for it.

Here’s the deal, two of these contenders are almost identical in function and end goal, while one of them feels good from the get go, but lacks the staying power due to a corporate culture of mind changing. But there is one who has the self-control, business model and influence to win the day!

You will be coerced, forced, manipulated and deceived with sensationalism into believing which business model rules the world.

In other words, this is what advertising does every day, and the crazy thing is most people are being lulled to sleep, not even realizing the mind game being played on them.

“Your belief system has gotten you where you are today.

If you are not responsible for what you think, who is?”

No one else is making you think your thoughts. You are the one that decides what goes on inside your nut. The Bible says to “take every thought captive”. With all of the psychological and negative input of life we get from the media, it is no wonder anyone alive has a coherent thought.

The Psychological Battle

Think over this story and see if you can figure out who it is talking about!

Mr. and Mrs. eCoe, Mz. ‘W’, The Corporation or Bad Government.

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call a.s.a.p., changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor.

On seeing him, the father yelled, “Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?” The doctor smiled and said, “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital and I came as fast as I could after receiving the call and now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”.

“Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies while waiting for doctor than what will you do??” said the father angrily. The doctor smiled again and replied, “We will do our best by God’s grace and you should also pray for your son’s healthy life”.

“Giving advise when we’re not concerned is so easy” Murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, “Thank goodness, your son is saved!” And without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running by saying, “If you have any questions, ask the nurse”.

“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state” Commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left. The nurse answered, tears coming down her face, “His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was at the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery.

And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”

Moral: Never judge anyone because you never know how their life is and what they’re going through. Were you the father or the Doctor? Courtesy of http://www.moralstories.org/

Obviously you have already taken a side based on personal experience or up-bringing. One of our contenders has done the same thing. He, she or they have used a sad story to get inside your head and play with your emotions. How can you be clear whether the words I am typing, the stories I am sharing or graphics involved with this book have anything to do with the primary objective?

Here is the deception factor – you don’t know!

Brian Klemmer author of the Compassionate Samurai said, “Unless you interfere with your belief system, which is where you make most of your decisions, you will recreate the status quo.”

How do we as a society or individually decide whether Mr. and Mrs. eCoe, Mz. ‘W’, The Corporation or Bad Government are even right. Maybe they are all wrong and the only business model what makes any sense is the one we live in.

And the strange thing is, our selected business model came from one of them. Here is a great question!

How would you plot a Business Model takeover – Hostile like corporate or subtly like the Bad Government?

Which One of Them is the Thief?I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Isidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’

“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you.

You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees.

There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’

“Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.

He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch.

I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.”

When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”

Who do You Trust?

Mr. and Mrs. eCoe, the wise couple, Mz. ‘W’, the strong relationship builder, The well intentioned Corporation or the Bad Government.

Here is the Psychological catch! Many people trust the Bad Government for EBT, Social Security, Pensions, Jobs and Health Card. And guess what, for the most part those needs are met. What about that well intentioned Corporation, you may even work for one and are your need provided for at least partially if not completely? Hmmm – loyalty.

Moral: Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what. No Dream is too big or too small when one works hard to live it. One should always try making dreams come true no matter what. Courtesy of http://www.moralstories.org/

Here is the un-asked question. Why are there so many Business Models? And why would someone, anyone want to steal them? Personal Gain, Control, Increased Profits – Takeover. He, She or Them who controls the Business Models – controls the economy. CONSPIRACY THEORY!

So what has happened to the customer during this Conspiracy? You know the answer to that question, you’re the customer. Who is keeping your attention? The Advertisers!!!

What kind of car do you drive, what beer do you drink, which cell phone company do you make payments too, where do you shop, how many credit cards do you have, who do you make your mortgage payment too?

They have you, they own you, they own your money and you are happy to pay them. It is that simple! They have already won the Psychological Battle in your mind and you love it like a drug. Meanwhile they walked right into the most secure Library in the world and stole all of the Business Models in plain daylight and walked out the door.

It’s time to kill off one of the Contenders. As per the authors request that this story end up being a “last man standing” concept. Let’s make-up a few rules to help us sort out the Business Model Thief.

Rule no. 1 – they use passé business terms like . . . . as per, core competency, forward initiative, let's take this offline, mission-critical, pursuant to, seamless integration, please be advised, under separate cover, empowerment, water-board, incentivize.

Rule no. 2 – they are deceptive, but not smart enough to find the Business Models and then lose them. They would simply make up a lie that someone stole them.

Mr. and Mrs. eCoe

Mz. ‘W’

The Corporation

Bad Government

The Bad GovernmentWhy, because they are incompetent at doing the right thing right.

It was easy making them scapegoat, but all crimes work that way! It’s the throw them under the bus rule. The truth of the matter, is the Bad Government has been in a covert operation to end all business models for what is being called the “control factor”, where you will not be able to buy, sell or trade anything without their financial mark of approval.

And Then There Were NoneIf we are to have a Psychological Business Thriller it needs a basis of fact for the remaining contenders.

Ten people arrive on an isolated island off the Devonshire coast of England. Each appears to have an invitation tailored to his or her personal circumstances, such as an offer of employment or an unexpected late summer holiday.

They are met by the island owners' butler and cook (who have never met their employer), making a total of ten people known to be on the island. While awaiting their hosts, they find a framed copy of the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Soldiers" ("Niggers" or "Indians" in respective earlier editions) hanging on the wall, and notice ten figurines on the dining room table, as well as discussing other oddities about the house and their visit.

The butler plays a gramophone (or "phonograph") record while they are talking, as he had been instructed to do; unexpectedly the recording contains a voice that describes each visitor in turn and accuses each of having committed murder but evading justice, and asks if any of "the accused" wishes to give a defense.

All are shocked and in the aftermath one of the guests (Anthony Marston) has a drink to help with the shock, however his drink contained potassium cyanide and he chokes and dies. Subsequently the guests notice one of the ten figurines is now broken, and the nursery rhyme appears to reflect the manner of death ("One choked his little self and then there were nine").

Over the next two days, Mrs. Rogers, the cook, dies from a lethal dose of chloral hydrate, a sleeping medication ("one overslept himself"), and then General MacArthur is found dead from a blow to the back of his skull, having predicted earlier to Vera Claythorne that none of them would leave the island alive ("one said he'd stay there").

In each case the death matches the rhyme and is accompanied by another broken figurine.

Three of the men search the island but there seems nowhere on the bare rock for a stranger to hide, and the bad weather would not allow any boats to visit. They decide that one of the remaining visitors must be a mad killer. The next morning Thomas Rogers, the butler, is found dead in the woodshed, having been struck by an axe ("one chopped himself in halves"), and later that day the fifth death occurs when Emily Brent is killed by an injection of cyanide ("a bumblebee sting").

Justice Wargrave suggests they lock up any potential weapons, including Dr. Armstrong's medical equipment and his own sleeping pills. They use two locks, giving one key to soldier of fortune Philip Lombard and the other to ex-policeman William Blore. Lombard admits to bringing a revolver to the island and initially refuses to turn it over until the others force him to do so. When he goes to get it, he seems genuinely confounded that it is missing.

To stay safe, they agree that only one person will leave the others at any given time. Ex-governess Vera Claythorne screams after her face brushes against seaweed which has been hung from a ceiling hook in her darkened room, causing the others to run upstairs to help. Once upstairs they realize Wargrave is not with them. He is found sitting dressed in judicial robes with the mark of a gunshot through the forehead ("one got into Chancery").

Armstrong confirms the death, and Lombard appears confounded when he discovers that his gun has now been returned to his room.

That night, Blore hears someone sneaking out of the house and catches a glimpse of someone in the moonlight. Realizing Armstrong is missing, Blore, Vera and Lombard decide that he must be the killer. The next morning the three try to signal the mainland and remain in the relative safety of the beach.

However Blore eventually goes to the house for food, and is later found under Vera's bedroom window, his skull crushed by a heavy bear-shaped clock ("a big bear hugged one"), and shortly afterwards, shocking Lombard and Vera, the corpse of Armstrong washes ashore — his absence now appears to have been designed to mislead everyone as to the identity of the true killer ("a red herring swallowed one").

Vera and Lombard, the last two survivors, both now believe each other to be the killer, shock and panic overcoming reason. She persuades Lombard to help her drag Armstrong's body away from the tideline, as a pretext to get hold of his gun, which she does. When Lombard makes a sudden move towards her, she fires, managing to shoot him through the heart, killing him instantly (an early version of the rhyme "Ten Little Injuns" contained the verse "One shot the other and then there was One").

She returns, relieved, to the house, which she notes does not "feel like an empty house", decides she is not hungry and ascends to her room.

There, in a dreamlike disoriented state after shooting Lombard, she finds a hanging noose and chair arranged beneath it in her room.

Feeling the presences of Cyril, the boy she allowed to drown, as well as that of her former lover, Hugo, she places the noose around her neck and kicks away the chair ("he went and hanged himself, and then there were none").

In an epilogue, the investigating police officer discusses the mystery with his Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard.

There are no clues as to the owner, nor from any of the visitors' diaries (which broadly agree about the sequence of events on the island up to the final day on the deaths from Marston to Wargrave).

However the situation they find apparently contradicts any theory they can suggest - Vera's fingerprints on Lombard's pistol and the clock that killed Blore coming from Vera's room point to Vera as "U.N. Owen" yet the chair Vera kicked away is found neatly set against the wall, Lombard's revolver was not found on or near his person, Armstrong's body has been dragged above where any tide could have taken it, it is inconceivable that Blore could or would have dropped the clock on himself, and the inclement weather combined with the distance from the mainland would have prevented anyone else from entering or exiting the island before the first boats arrived after the weekend-thus someone must have been alive after the deaths of Vera; Lombard, Armstrong and Blore.

The novel proper ends with the investigators thoroughly confounded by the apparently impossible situation they must unravel.

Who Stole Your Cheese?

You did!Just like the Judge in 10 Little Indians. You stole the cheese, then conjured up a story that corporate espionage was involved.

Some are asking why the Bad Government and Mz ‘W’ were killed off first and second, random selection just like in nature. The weak die first. Just like in the original Star Trek, the guys in Red always died first in the show.

Besides we want the ultimate battle of deception vs wisdom to determine the winner, not lies and indecision!

Do you know why you stole your own cheese? It reveals your victim mentality. You claim to be a victim of Bad Government decisions, an indecisive Mz ‘W’ in your life and really it comes down to the Corporate Job you were fired from.

Yes, in a calculated step by step plan of elimination, Mr. and Mrs. eCoe are the winners of the Business Model. WHY? Because in the eCoe Business Model, no one steals your cheese or kills off anyone else, the game of deception is left to the government, Oh and yes – this short book is about your issues and not any Psychological Thriller. But it took a series of stories, lies, deception and totally un-connected bilge to get you thinking.

Success is a Choice

“As long as you allow your past to haunt you, you'll never be free to pursue your future. You won't even be able to focus on your present.” Brian Klemmer

In the Lead-in for this short book, we talked about how “This story is taking place right now all around you in the world of business, ecommerce and customer survival-ship”.

Some parts of the business world are serving the customer. Those companies are selected for the Stevie Award (my hat is off to these companies). The rest of the companies are doing self-gratifying actions to achieve what? Not service the customer needs, because they don’t know who their customer is. God bless the women’s groups for at least talking about the problems.

And as for the bad government that creates problems, then over pays for services that don’t work and then they offer us stupid alibis for their incompetence.

You see this story is about freedom of choice! People like to choose what they like, not what other people tell them to like. The first three contenders did not offer the freedom to choose so by natural selection they were pre-planned for termination.

Pre-meditated PlotThis whole short book nonsense was a sham to start.

With pre-selected victims that had no say whatsoever in the plot. You see I only wanted one Business Model to succeed to start with, and the only way to draw you to my Business Model was to falsely accuse and murder the Bad Government, the Corporation and Mz ‘W’.

Isn’t that what a psychopathic business professional does? Make a plan to accuse and kill off its pre-selected victims before anyone has a say in the matter for right to say this Business Model is the best in the world.

Isn’t that what a psychopathic business professional does? Make a plan to accuse and kill off its pre-selected victims before anyone has a say in the matter for right to say this Business Model is the best in the world.

Its done in life all the time, it’s called being downsized, corporate or government takeover and restructuring. And many times the staff person or customer ends up being the victim.

So instead of serving them well, we just make them go away.

And then there was one! Mr. and Mrs. eCoe. Why the eCoe’s? Because they offer the wisest and most lucrative business model of all! This crazy story was my way of introducing you to eCoe Power and the Business Model of the future.

Like Jack Welch says in his quote, “change before you have to! Bryan Long @ www.co-ownership.us

Thanks and ContributionsThe Biblehttp://www.moralstories.org/Brian Klemmer Marva Collins

Who Stole the Business Models

Copyrighted October 2014Bryan K. Long/The Bryan K. Long Company/Co-Ownership.us