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Suppliers, workers, lenders and the tax collector all take their share of a business's money before the owner sees a paisa. Seeing that queue shows why the owner's share is the biggest prize and the most fragile part.

When a company's profit falls, the first explanation is rarely the real one. A habit from a Japanese car factory shows how to keep asking why until you reach the cause that matters.

Water keeps us alive, yet it sells for almost nothing. A diamond keeps nobody alive, yet it sells for a fortune. Here is what that old puzzle teaches us about telling a useful business from a profitable one.

When money runs short, a family stops buying some things at once and other things never. A business that sells the second kind has steadier sales. Here is how to spot it, and why it is only the first step.