The New Science of Success:
How to Outsource Proof Your Job and Prosper in a Web 2.0 Economy
Published Apr 2007
by
Frank “Rio” Shines
Personal Note – Acknowledgments
Thank you for considering The New Science of Success. If you are reading this book you are probably in general good health and doing well. Unfortunately, there are many people around the world who are not as fortunate. I was once one of those people. I hope that in some small way each of you finds the means to extend a helping hand to others in need, and that you not take for granted the countless blessings each of us is granted everyday. In the wise words of Jim Rohn, “We should be grateful for what we have, while in the pursuit of what we want.” I am personally grateful to many people.
I grew up on welfare with my three sisters and a single mother in the ghetto streets of Oakland, California (across the bay from San Francisco), at a time when that city had the highest crime rate in the United States. How my older sister and I survived that ordeal, I do not know. Many of my childhood friends and two of my sisters did not. As children, we probably saw more tragedy in a month than many people encounter in a lifetime. For this reason, I am eternally grateful to those who have helped me along the way.
This book is the combined effort of many great minds, big hearts and wise colleagues who took the time to invest a bit of their lives into mine. On the eve of my departure from civilian life into the military ranks of the U. S. Air Force on 27 September 1981, my friend, Roy “Dog Paddle” Anderson dropped me off at my house following a going-away party my high school friends had thrown for me. Although a light rain was falling, the moon shone brightly through passing clouds overhead. As we stood in front of my parent’s house in Edmonds, Washington just north of Seattle, Roy looked squarely at me, a big smile on his face but tears in his eyes. “You’re different Frank,” he began. “Most of us will never get a chance to get out of the little farm town where I grew up. You now have the chance to do something big in the ‘Force. Make us proud.” He gave me a quick bear hug and drove away. I stood in the rain, watching his car disappear over the hill and into the darkness. Why was it that I had been so lucky to have such remarkable friends, I thought. I have never forgotten Roy’s last three words: “Make us proud.” That was the last time I saw Dog Paddle Roy. He died in a motorcycle accident on an icy road in Everett, Washington.
In some small way, I hope that I can do a little bit to make proud all of the “Roys” who took the time to help me along the way. The ideas you will read come from my personal experiences and the influences of people around the world who I have met as an athlete, in the NCAA, and as a military officer and business consultant traveling the globe.
These ideas come from a wise father and a very rich uncle. They come from training and competing against Olympic athletes and top Air Force jet pilots. The ideas are the result of living overseas in the Azores Islands and Brazil, as well as from working on projects from Anchorage, Alaska to Santiago, Chile and from Seoul, South Korea to Berlin, Germany.
The information within the covers of this book also comes from my experience working with artists and musicians and from selling peanut brittle candy door-to-door, mowing lawns, digging ditches, planting shrubs, working the phones at a call center, washing cars, and selling paint and housewares for Sears & Roebuck. Additionally, these ideas come from working on war planning and air logistics projects for Desert Storm and from Air Force restructuring studies designed to downsize the U.S. military following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the former Soviet Union. I have had the great pleasure of learning directly from the “Einstein of Quality,” the legendary Dr. W. Edwards Deming (who is known as the American who taught the Japanese quality) and I have studied and applied his system of profound knowledge to both my personal and professional life. These ideas come from providing business consulting and technology services to top military brass and Fortune 500 and Global 2000 corporate executives. Finally, these ideas come not just from academic studies and consulting engagements, but from running my own businesses in the U.S. and Brazil. I have made my share of money – but I have lost lots as well! However, I have never lost that passion for learning and seeing others grow along the way. I am fortunate to have been able to work with some of the most intelligent and interesting people on the planet. I now have the chance to help others — and that is what has me getting up early and staying up late. As a former boss and Ernst & Young partner often preached, “It’s the fire in the belly!”
First, to my father and friend, Franklin P. Shines, Sr., who re-entered my life at a time when I was on the road to certain destruction. His wise counsel, love and willingness to simply listen and allow me to grow have been priceless. Every child should have such a dad.
My closest friends and relatives have always been there by my side in both good times and bad. And so my heartfelt thanks and bottomless admiration go to Corry, Uncle Bob and Aunt Naomi, Granison & Tasha, Robin VanDorst, Rickey Shines, Gloria and Victor Roberts, Faryn Milan, Dick Moore, Michelle, Ashley and Judy, Forrest Breyfogle, Dr. Carlinhos Pinto-Alveres, Dr. Peter Wung, Judi Fischer, Jackie Hull, Pat Ferris, Phil Moore, Zak Merzouki, Ian Elius, Mayuresh Unde, Dr. Paul & Chris Buckmaster, Graham O’Keefe, Dr. Peter Wung, Joao MacDowell, Richard Trussell, Stacy Wilson, Dr. Daniel Denison, and Bob and Mary Read.
Also, I am thankful to the many coaches, professors, mentors and colleagues from Cascade High School to the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), and from graduate school and beyond, who have shaped my knowledge, character, skills and habits: Coach Dan Hunter, Coach Bob Bruzas (Cascade H.S.), Coaches “Killer” Kennedy, Ramsey and Burkel (USAFA), Forrest Breyfogle, Lung D. Liaw, Dr. Mikel J. Harry, Dr. W. Edwards Deming; and to the statisticians, scientists and industrial engineers from the U.S. Air Force, the Santa Fe Institute, the Six Sigma Management Institute, the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, the Defense Language Institute, Westinghouse, IBM and Ernst & Young. To all of these individuals and institutions I am humbly indebted and eternally grateful to you all.
My thanks also go to AJ, a remarkable young man who has before him a bright and limitless future.
And most importantly, to the two women in my life who mean the most to me, my older sister Trudy who has always believed in me, and my lovely wife, Michelle for her unwavering support, endless love and perpetual inspiration.