Just two months and three weeks after coming to terms with his decision, the deal was complete. Vince Green had sold the firm he had founded almost ten years earlier. Although he had offered it to his rival, he knew that Rich would decline. So instead, the firm was swallowed up by a large East Coast consulting firm.

Within a year, Vince grew bored and started another firm, this time a software company. Although he had worried about whether he would be able to reestablish his passion for business, he found that the fresh start, coupled with a new openness about the four disciplines, gave him just the energy he needed.

During this same time, Rich decided to grow Telegraph at a quicker pace than before, partly by acquiring a few specialty consulting firms. Within three years, the firm had doubled in size, and Rich became less involved in client-related work than ever before. Instead, he found that he needed to spend even more time on the four disciplines in order to maintain the success of his now larger firm.