'Small Giants' written by Bo Burlingham
review by Tim Fulton

As a young entrepreneur fresh out of college I was focused on one goal in managing my small business: growth. Growth in revenues. Growth in profits. Growth in employee headcount. Growth in market share. It felt like I was in some kind of race. Who was I racing against? Competitors? Insolvency?

Every once in a while I would stop to catch a breath and ask myself, 'Why growth?' Seemed like a reasonable question. I could never reach a good answer, and hence would resume my race for growth not ever sure of my ultimate destination.

As I have worked with many like-minded small business owners over the past decade, I have found that I was not the only one obsessed with growth. It seems to be a very common condition of many entrepreneurs. And like me, few are able to answer the question of 'Why growth?'

Author Bo Burlingham has recently written a book, Small Giants, that profiles fourteen companies that addressed the 'Growth' question head on and proactively decided to resist growth in favor of becoming 'Great'. They became great employers. They provide great customer service. They make great contributions to their community. The lead great lives outside of work.

Just as Jim Collins best-selling book, 'Good To Great', describes how big companies become great, Burlingham describes in his book how small companies become great. For each company, the author writes in great detail how the organization created their own unique 'mojo' and the lessons other business owners can learn from their experience. Each of the businesses had opportunities to grow fast whether it was thru an IPO or a merger or an acquisition. Each business after careful consideration chose to reject the opportunity for hyper growth and instead focus on becoming great.

I strongly recommend this book to every business owner. At the very least, it will cause you to address the 'why growth?' question. I look forward to working with more 'small giants' in the future.