Choose to be Great vs Big
from Yahoo Voices 8/13 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz 10/13
Growth is Good ??? This book pointed out to me the irony of the growth plan in the business plan. Many of the companies in the book “Small Giants” flinched at the idea of growth. Essentially, it looked like they flinched at growth. Really, they were each just scared of the idea of growth in the traditional sense and the rapid, revolutionizing nature of most growth regimes. If a business is successful, others encourage it to think about growth through franchising & other means. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, and to varying degrees, each founder in this book’s study had some kind of pang in their gut that they were supposed to be growing their businesses like all successful startups do. Instead, they were afraid of where growth would take them. They each enjoyed the idea behind their company’s mission and the smallness and pursuit for quality control that is indicative of a startup.
Is Bigger Better ??? The author points out time & again that small businesses – being so concerned with survival – often place emphasis on how much better they are than the competition in order to garner customer loyalty. Each business, while not a Fortune 500 company, is practically the best in their field as satisfying customers’ needs & wants. The author points out, that each company is great and that greatness is something startups– turned-large corporations – often lose along the way. While this premise is seemingly self-explanatory with the title, it’s remarkable in that the author’s approach is completely opposite that of literature within this genre. Most books focus on large, successful corporations and the business philosophies of their Founders & CEOs. Obviously, these individuals have much to offer in the way of business knowledge & expertise, but the author seeks wisdom from those business stand-outs that simply could not reconcile the idea of “bigger is better” with their individual business’s mission and objective.
Lessons. In evaluating the author’s many observations & anecdotes, it’s evident that there are a few lessons to be learned. The most obvious lesson is that growth is not something your business either has to do or die. Rather, growth is something you can control & manipulate to your company’s advantage – allowing a business to effectively control its destiny and sustain its original “mojo”. Another lesson that has staying power – and can resonate with anyone attempting to start their own business – is the fact all of these businesses became successful through the customers’ frenzied excitement over the product or service. Rarely did the author speak of a huge marketing campaign by any of the profiled companies. They worked networks, and the acclaim they received was rained upon them. Essentially, the passion to produce a wonderful product or service paid off, with consumers & other clients wanting the businesses’ services/products simply because they were great companies to work with.
[ Growth on your own Terms, Can you handle the Capacity? Different ways to Grow in Premium Content ]