" Most S quadrant businesses are either structured as sole proprietorships or partnerships. They could be teams, but not the kind of team I think of. Just as people in the E quad- rant often bind together as a union, people in the S quadrant often organize as a partnership. When I think of a team, I think of different types of people with different skills coming together to work together. In a union or partnership (e.g., the teachers' union or a law partnership), the same kinds of peo- ple and professions often come together. 328 Rich Dad's Guide to Investing One of my greatest teachers was Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller. Dr. Fuller set out years ago to find what he called "the build- ing blocks of the universe." In his search, he found out that squares and cubes do not exist in nature. He would say, "Tetrahedrons are the basic building blocks of nature." When I look at the great pyramids of Egypt, I understand a little more about what Dr. Fuller was talking about. While tall skyscrapers come and go, those pyramids have withstood the test of tens of centuries. While a skyscraper can come down with a few well-placed sticks of dynamite, the pyramids would not budge with the same blast. Dr. Fuller was looking for a stable structure in the universe, and he found it in the tetrahedron. The Different Models The following are graphic portrayals of different business structures. 1. This is a sole proprietorship: , о 2. This is a partnership: о---о 3. This is а В quadrant business: The prefix "tetra" means four. In other words, it has four points. After studying with Dr. Fuller, I began to see the im- portance of having structures be in a minimum of fours. For example, when you look at the CASHFLOW Quadrant, it has four parts. Therefore, a stable business structure would look like the following diagram: A well-managed business will have excellent employees. In this instance, I say the E stands for both "excellent" and "es- sential" because the employees are responsible for the day-to- day activities of the business. The E also stands for "extension" because the employees are the extension of the business owner and represent the business to the customer. The specialists are typically from the S quadrant. The S stands for "specialized" because each specialist will guide you based on his or her trained area of expertise. While specialists may not participate daily, their guidance is invaluable to keep your business moving in the right direction. The structure has a better chance of being stable and en- during if the four points are working in alignment. While the investors provide the funding, the business owners must work with the specialists and employees to develop the busi- ness and make it grow so there will be a return on the in- vestors' original investment. Another interesting tetra-relationship I came across is the four fundamental elements that make up this world we live in, which the ancients believed to be earth, air, fire, and rain (water).