Small Giants Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big
Notes
It was a matter of logic and principle, and he said he would apply the same approach even if it were in an altogether different business. 'It's like your sailing down a river with many tributaries running off,' he told Conlin. 'Yes, you pause to consider each tributary and whether it is a part of your voyage, but keeping you on course is the knowledge of where you want to be at the end of the trip.'
ritz replies...
Thereâ??s still nothing wrong with â??wingingâ? it, but you better think hard at each tributary whether or not thatâ??s the direction you want to take.
The moment it becomes a manufacturing empire with a label, it's not a person. I take pride in my work, great pride, and I would never compromise it, certainly not for money. The end result is not the check. It's how beautiful the customers look, how special they look, and how proud I feel. It's the sense of accomplishment.
ritz replies...
Sometimes it seems so hard to be proud of your work when other people have a say in how itâ??s done. Things donâ??t work out the way you intended and people donâ??t see the value of your plan. But having the right attitude can make a world of differenceâ??if people know you want to make it beautiful they will want to help you do it.
Lots of responsibility. We're counting on you. We trust you. And if you screw up, just tell us about it; don't worry about it. We're not encouraging you to screw up, but for heaven's sake, if you do, don't worry. We're in this together, and we don't know what we're doing either, so come on and join in.
ritz replies...
Imagine how much you would be willing to try and learn in a situation like that. Imagine how much you would want to help and watch the organization succeed. But, for the most part, bosses imply they know everything and will fire you for making mistakesâ?Š Then wonder why you under perform.
That sense of community rests on three pillars. The first is integrity the knowledge that the company is what it appears, and claims, to be The second pillar is professionalism the company does what it says it's going to do The third pillar the direct, human connection, the effect of which is to create an emotional bond, based on mutual caring.
ritz replies...
Just imagine a group of people you would like to know in real life. People that donâ??t fake it, that donâ??t lie, and actually care about whatâ??s going on. Thatâ??s itâ??thatâ??s all you need. The rest is just details.
In the end, they agreed that it came down from their commitment to five core values: caring for each other; caring for guests; caring for the community; caring for suppliers; and caring for investors and profitability in descending order of importance.
ritz replies...
Itâ??s ironic and funny how some of the most successful companies put making money at the bottom of this list. People notice when you care about them. Probably because not many people do that these daysâ??theyâ??re too worried about moneyâ?Š
'We wanted to raise the bar,' he said. 'Instead of trying to do it all, we wanted to be the best at a few things. We physically gave up our licenses in other states so we couldn't work there, and we went from taking every job to questioning every job.' That meant getting rid of customers, including some who'd been around the company for a long time.
ritz replies...
What do you want to be the best at? Is there anything keeping you from doing your best, and is it worth getting rid of?
If you want to have the choice, you have to fight for it. All successful businesses face enormous pressure to grow, and they come from everywhere customers, employees, investors, suppliers, competitors you name it. As we shall see, those forces will make the choice for you if you let them, in which case you will lose the opportunity to chart your own course.
ritz replies...
Everything is a choice. Most of the time it seems like thereâ??s only one option and itâ??s not up for debateâ??itâ??s still a choice and you better be sure itâ??s taking you where you want to go.
Not everyone on every team is interested in growing, but the only way to keep a nineteen-year-old restaurant like Union Square Cafe on it's toes is to staff it with people who want to figure out a better way to do everything every day.
ritz replies...
A good idea is usually only a good idea for a while. And thereâ??s always someone somewhere who knows how to do it better.
They're also interested in being great at what they do, creating a great place to work, providing great service to customers, having great relationships with their suppliers, make great contributions to the communities they live and work in, and finding great ways to lead their lives.
ritz replies...
Do you think thatâ??s success? Do you think this would lead to a great income eventually? Is being great more important than making money?
Description edit
Its an axiom of business that great companies grow their revenues and profits year after year. Yet quietly, under the radar, a small number of companies have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on more satisfying business goals. Goals like being great at what they do . . . creating a great place to work . . . providing great customer service . . . making great contributions to their communities . . . and finding great ways to lead their lives. In Small Giants, veteran journalist Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside fourteen remarkable companies that have chosen to march to their own drummer. They include Anchor Brewing, the original microbrewer; CitiStorage Inc., the premier independent records-storage business; Clif Bar & Co., maker of organic energy bars and other nutrition foods; Righteous Babe Records, the record company founded by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco; Union Square Hospitality Group, the company of restaurateur Danny Meyer; and Zingermans Community of Businesses, including the world-famous Zingermans Deli of Ann Arbor. Burlingham shows how the leaders of these small giants recognized the full range of choices they had about the type of company they could create. And he shows how we can all benefit by questioning the usual definitions of business success. In his new afterward, Burlingham reflects on the similarities and learning lessons from the small giants he covers in the book. Small Giants is a finalist for the Financial Times / Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award
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Additional information
- Pages: 268
- ISBN: 1591841496
- EAN: 9781591841494
- Dewey: 658.409
- Binding: Paperback
- Publisher: Portfolio Trade
Much of the satisfaction comes from the mutual trust that develops, particularly after coming through a bad storm It's the same whether you're sailing a ship across the Atlantic of taking your company from start-up to its destination. There are storms, there are calms, and, most important, there are people pulling together to achieve common objectives.
ritz replies...
Sometimes the best part of completing a challenge isnâ??t actually the outcome, itâ??s knowing you can complete the challenge with the people around you.