An essential component of the Goal Driven System(sm) is the five stages of development. "To better understand these stages, it is helpful to recognize how organic a business truly is. It is a kind of bio-machine and growing it can be compared to the development of any living organism." (The Goal Driven Business) Every plant, for example, goes through certain stages of growth: A plant starts as a seed, sprouts, grows leaves, flowers, and finally bears fruit. Similarly, every

Over the years, I have worked with many talented, intelligent, and dedicated doctors—both men and women who were compassionate and effective with their patients. However, not all of them were successful in business. The reason was that they lacked organization—and organizational discipline. That is to say, they lacked the business structure that would support a strong practice function.