small business and entrepreneurship

This book is a must read for anyone in business. For the entrepreneur, it can be used as a guide. For the more experienced business person, it can be used as a dose of reality. Having just completed my MBA and writing my thesis on this very topic, I only wish I had read this book 6 months earlier.

The authors provide an excellent framework for growing a business along with relevant case studies. And while it may look like a typical text book, it is less theory than most. This is one to be kept for years to come!

After having spent three years working at a pretty disorganized dot.com, I wanted to learn more about the right and wrong ways that young firms grow up. This book presents a fair framework that charts a company's growth, though it assumes that the troubles start when too many orders pour in and sales do not result in profits. (Not the case at a dot.com)

Firms are classified into four stages of development, and the text describes the good and bad of each. Some methodologies are presented for "scoring" the company for an offhand appraisal of its strengths and situation. (Kind of like the CMM scale, I guess)

But the worst part about the book was how tedious it was to read. The author spends hundreds of pages explaining just a few core concepts. The text describes, on and on, what the author is going to say next, then says it, and then reminds you about it for page after page. Just get to the point!

After 2 successful startups and serving as an executive in three Fortune 500 enterprises, I was doubtful there would be much to learn here. I was surprised to find the book to be rich in insights for both the budding CEO and the experienced enterprise corporate officer. Especially valuable are the maps of where effort needs to be concentrated at various stages of growth and the discussion on the benefits and consequences of different leadership styles. I use the book now to train new corporate leaders.