The reading level for this article is Novice

The summer before I went off to college I compiled this listing of what I feel to be the seven essential areas of knowledge. I just stumbled upon this listing today and feel it may be helpful and therefore with to share it here. If you feel I may have missed any, feel free to email me at ryan@zeromillion.com.

Seven Essential Areas of Knowledge for Business, Politics, & Diplomacy

1. Marketing Yourself & Your Business

a. ability to sell
b. ability to understand psychology
c. ability to form and keep contacts and relationships

2. Accounting and Financial Literacy

a. ability to understand money management and personal finance
b. ability to read financial statements
c. ability to get all the details when evaluating opportunities
d. ability to evaluate advice from an advisor

3. Investing

a. ability to make money make more money
b. knowledge of common stock markets
c. knowledge to profit in rising markets and falling markets
d. ability to see marketing opportunities and find profitable niches

4. Understanding Markets & Economics

a. ability to understand supply and demand
b. ability to evaluate investments based on market conditions
c. ability to know when to move from one niche to another
d. ability to quickly adapt to changes

5. The Law & The Rules of The Game

a. ability to set up a corporation
b. ability to use tax advantages
c. ability to evaluate advice from legal advisors
d. ability to know when opponent is not playing by the rules

6. Communication

a. ability to communicate fluently
b. ability to use the correct words
c. ability to understand the psychological makeup and influences of who you are communicating with

7. History and Culture

a. ability to learn from the past and not repeat mistakes
b. ability to respect beliefs, understand culture, and appropriately act wherever you are


This Personal Development article was written by Ryan P Allis on 2/9/2005

Ryan P. Allis, 20, is the author of Zero to One Million, a guide to building a company to $1 million in sales, and the founder of zeromillion.com. Ryan is also the CEO of Broadwick Corp., a provider of the permission-based email marketing software and CEO of Virante, Inc., a web marketing and search engine optimization firm. Ryan is an economics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is a Blanchard Scholar. [learn more.