Wonderful material.

Hello Mark. I tried your approach (looking at a business through numbers) a few years ago before I got lazy with my learning, and can attest to anyone reading this that it does indeed work. In fact, it almost works a little too well, as I found myself in the sights of other employees who saw me as a potential threat to their jobs.
You are probably wondering if I shared any of what I was reading with the other employees. Actually, no.
I worked my butt off at a local air park moving up from part time grass cutter, to part time line technician, to full time line technician, and finally assistant line service manager in a matter of 8 months before getting sacked. Needless to say it was a wild ride. And I still cannot believe it happened to this day. In fact, the things I got to see and the people I met were so amazing, and my downfall so painful, that I was actually scared to try again, and I stopped reading. I won’t say that I regret that choice, but I now realize, that it was not the right choice.
I tried some of the techniques (to a lesser degree) at the next business I went to work for, and discovered that there is such a thing as a business that does not want to grow. More specifically, a business, that is no longer owned by the original founder and is being milked by the new owners for everything that it is worth. I believe Dr. Wallace mention a similar scenario in one of his books. He referred to to such business owners, as looters, if I’m not mistaken.
These last few years have left a really bad taste in my mouth in terms of working for private businesses. And I now realize that the only way forward for me is my own business. As such I am deeply looking forward to level 3.