ABSTRACT
Read this paragraph first. Do not skip it. It is the most important paragraph in this entire book. Why is it the “most important” paragraph? Because it is a proviso or a warning about what not to do. If you skip around and only read parts of this book, you will receive little benefit. In fact, that would be typical of exactly what we are trying to eliminate . . . sloppy, unfinished work. There are few shortcuts to excellence. The shortcut here is that we are outlining a process to reduce mistakes and improve skills. If you plan to read a few pages here and a few sentences there, please do not tell anyone that you “read” this book. If you really want to improve your detective skills, commit yourself to excellence. Anything worth having is worth working for. Anything that comes free and easy is worth its price (nothing, i.e., “free”).
