The Shopping Cart Test

What does a shopping cart in a parking lot have to do with trust, leadership, and business success?

More than you think.

In The Shopping Cart Test, Michael Wilson reveals a powerful truth: small everyday behaviors expose a person's real standards. Long before a missed deadline, broken promise, toxic hire, or failed partnership creates damage, the warning signs are already there. They show up in the little things, how people handle inconvenience, follow through on simple tasks, treat others when no one is watching, and respond when there is nothing to gain.

This book gives business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals a practical framework for spotting those signals early. Instead of relying only on resumes, interviews, charisma, or polished performance, you will learn how to identify the patterns that reveal trust, ethics, ownership, and reliability.

Inside this book, you will learn how to:

• identify small behaviors that predict bigger problems later,
• separate polished performance from real character,
• recognize the difference between people who take ownership and those who leave messes for others,
• build a culture where reliability becomes the standard,
• make better decisions about who to hire, trust, promote, and build with.

Direct, practical, and easy to apply, The Shopping Cart Test challenges you to look beyond what people say and start paying attention to what they do. It will also push you to examine your own habits, your own standards, and the signals you send every day.

Because in business, the small things are never just small things.

They reveal everything.

Michael Wilson is an author, entrepreneur, and author coach who helps professionals, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders turn their ideas, expertise, and life experience into powerful nonfiction books. He is the author of Network Like A Millionaire and the founder of Entrepreneur Power Network.With an MBA and years of experience in business consulting, coaching, and course creation, Michael specializes in helping aspiring authors gain clarity, structure their message, and use AI as a strategic writing partner without losing their authentic voice. His work focuses on helping people write books that build authority, create opportunities, and position them as trusted leaders in their field.