It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
I want to share ONE THING that I learned from reading one of my favorite books this year, "Small Giants", by Bo Burlingham.
This book surprised me because I thought it was simply another business book that studied the behavior of a bunch of companies, but instead, it challenged me in my thinking. It took reading the book, then listening to the book on Audible, then talking about it with some colleagues for the power to really set in, but I want to share my biggest takeaway from this book:
In this book, Burlingham defines a "Small Giant" as "Businesses that have deliberately chosen not to chase growth and profits, but instead have stayed true to their ideals. They're passionate about what they do and focused on doing it extremely well, and following this little-trodden path has made them very successful."
In business or in non-profit organizations, we are always trying to grow: more money, more impact, more staff, more recognition, and the cycle continues.
In this book, I was reminded that "You don't have to be big to be great". In the book, they share the stories of a number of companies who became Small Giants by choosing to stay small, but having greater success.
Burlingham shares a number of principles to define this, but as I worked through the book and studied the companies that were profiled, my takeaways were:
It's a CHOICE to resist growth just for the sake of it. Growth should not just be measured financially. Look at employee satisfaction, community impact, the quality of your product or service, and your quality of life. I can be a part of a great company that isn't driving numerical growth, and thus driving my life.
It's a CHOICE to resist growth, especially when it takes you away from your passion. Often what happens when things grow, is that you get further away from your passion and drive, which is what propelled you into this work at the beginning. Staying focused keep you in line with what you were called to do in the first place.
It's a CHOICE to say no to expansion, and go deeper where you are! Depth is growth, and often we think growth is just measured by how many points of sale or impact we have, not by the depth we achieve. Through depth we develop intense loyalty.
Obviously I'm making the non-profit connection. The book is focused on business, but I found parallels throughout the book to any non-profit organization that struggles with the need to constantly be growing bigger and bigger instead of defining success in new ways.
Read the book. It will challenge you as it challenged me.
Aaron wrote to me with a comment from last weeks post on Ken Blanchards book, The New One Minute Manager:
"Love Blanchard. Two other favorites are Lead Like Jesus and Trust Works (It's an allegory and Blanchard reads the audiobook which is awesome.) Click for a SUMMARY from Blanchards book, and click for a QUIZ that you can use."
Thanks Aaron for sharing these tools.
Thoughts? Comment by clicking HERE on the blog page, or send me a note with your One Thing.
I'd like to ask you to share some of yours. Do it simply:
What's the book?
What's The One Thing that stands out to you (we all see different things)?
How has it made a difference?
Send it to me HERE and I'll share it with others reading this weekly post.
"Success means you're going to have better problems. I'm very happy with the problems I have now." Bo Burlingham
"If you want a company that cares, you need people who care, and they need to be motivated by more than money. If money is the only reason people come to work, they probably belong on a different bus." Bo Burlinham
"Bigger is not always better. Small companies have some advantages that large companies can't match." Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham
Things I'm Reading and Listening To This Week:
Gina and I deep into "The Worlds Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji". Thanks Christine for recommending it. Great adventure, Great teamwork and Beautiful Scenery in Fiji! It's showing on Amazon Prime.
This weekend, while watching Saturday Night Live, I heard Justin Bieber sing a song entitled "Lonely". A line from the song says, "What if you had it all, but nobody to call...". I work with leaders all the time who experience lonliness. Biebers song struck a chord. I then listened to some of his greatest hits on Justin Bieber Essentials.
Get Bo Burlinghams book, Small Giants or listen to it on Audible.
OK, here's the real ONE THING from the Small Giants book. In the book, Burlingham profiles a company, Zingerman's Delicatessen, a "Small Giant Company" in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While doing a LifePlan in Michigan in late 2019, I had the privilege of enjoying the most incredible Reuban Sandwich while visiting the deli in person with Matt. I'm a fan! Then, for my birthday, Eric and Sally surprised me with a Zingerman Reuban Sandwich box at my home in California! Gina and I enjoyed these sandwiches for 2 days. This is the real take-away from this book. If you're ever in Ann Arbor, take the time for this experience, or have it delivered to you wherever you are!