Secrets Below The Surface - Handbook of the Top 10 Business Models in the World
Where to Work? Where to Invest?
by Clifton Isings

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Are you working in the right place for you? Is the business model of the company you are working for going to be able to provide you with the selection of career opportunities you deserve? Or, are you looking to invest your hard-earned dollars saved in companies positioned for success? Or, are you a CEO curious in finding out how great businesses out there work in order to help you attract top talent and enjoy more prosperity? FIND OUT! So much Noise in the world… So much change and disruption in the world… Yet, some businesses just seem to flourish and continue to succeed. Look at their SECRETS BELOW THE SURFACE to find these gems. That is where you want to work! That is where you want invest! In this book, I will describe the top 10 business models that I uncovered over my career in the financial world. They uncover the secret inner workings of companies in ways that management may not even realize. Arming you with this knowledge will help you distinguish between one company that is simply limping along with no long-term business plan, and another that is seemingly similar on the surface but is very different and very powerful underneath. You should seek out these powerful companies to work for and to invest in. They provide their employees with countless more opportunities for career growth, and they provide their investors with superior long-term returns. The book is organized by chapters. • Each business model is described in a separate chapter with examples and clues to help you find them operating in the world around you. • At the end of every business model chapter, you will find a HOT BOX which will act as a handy reference to help you identify them using practical cues

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Clifton Isings grew up in the colorful and multicultural city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Early in his life, Clifton moved around several times exploring his interests resulting in him attending 4 different universities in Canada and the United States. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto, and a Masters of Business Administration degree from McGill University. Growing up, he unknowingly looked at most things as having some kind of hidden ultimate working model of existence. He only later formalized his thinkings in the business world into frameworks in this book. After different employments and entrepreneurial forays in his twenties, he went to work for a large Canadian pension fund as a long-term investor for the retirement dollars of the workers. He started as a summer student at the pension fund of Canadian National Railway and ended almost 30 years later as head of the entire fund. The fund enjoyed tremendous growth over his tenure and moved from having a deficit when he joined as a summer student to having a large surplus by the time he retired as CEO of the fund. Clifton also served as the chair of the board of directors for an oil and gas company and as an investment committee member for both the Canadian Olympic Committee and the McGill University pension fund. Over the years, he conducted over 1500 one-on-one interviews with top management and CEOs in businesses all over the world. His experience taught him that there are a limited number of successful business models in the world. Finally, he identified only 14 distinct successful business models operating around the globe and he assembled the top 10 for this book.

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Contributors

Author

Clifton Isings

Illustrator

Christopher Zelt

Cover Design by

Nathan Isings