Timely, Timeless Shakespeare; Ado About Something: He entertained the audience of his day with eternal verities.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: DONNA HOWELL

William Shakespeare gets credit as a superbly talented playwright. What's less known is he excelled through astute planning and an eye toward the business of theater.

"He made, actually, a lot of money at it. He was unique," said Stephen Greenblatt, author of "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare." "He was a good money manager and very shrewd."

The man had native genius, granted. His level of achievement can't be explained simply by work discipline, Greenblatt says. But it certainly helped, as did careful decisions made in response to three early life questions.

Shakespeare's family enjoyed a certain status. Young William did well with rigorous Latin language studies at a local grammar school.

When hard times hit, he had to quit to help his father, a town alderman and glover whose business had begun to fail. It left little hope that he would get a university education and entry to genteel society.

"It might've been a real disappointment for him," Greenblatt said. "It marked a roadblock."