How maverick companies have passed up the growth treadmill -- and
focused on greatness instead.
It's 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 Zingerman's Community of Businesses,
including the world-famous Zingerman's 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.
