Most business books focus on huge, public companies, or companies striving to become big and public. Most business strategy is all about growing as big as possible, as quickly as possible. Anything less than that is considered a failure. “Small Giants” is a refreshing read about companies that have chosen a different path: companies that, despite being financially successful and well respected in their industry, have chosen to remain relatively small, and instead focus on becoming great at what they do and great places to work.
The main value of this book is in making you aware of the fact that it’s possible to build such a company.
- You don’t have to chase IPOs and acquisitions.
- You don’t have to raise money from VCs and obsess over “growth hacking.”
- You can be a successful business by focusing on solving important problems and treating employees and customers well.
The book profiles 14 such “small giants” to give you a taste of what such companies look like. To be honest, there isn’t much insight here as to what made those companies successful, or what made other attempted small giants fail. This book is not an instruction manual or how-to guide, but more of a series of case studies and story telling. As a result, there are only a few actionable pieces of advice to take away:
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Building a small giant is possible. Being aware of this is the key contribution of this book.
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Building a small giant means saying no. This typically includes intentionally turning down significant and tempting growth and revenue opportunities. Success and conventional wisdom will always push you to grow, but it’s not always the right decision for every business.
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Building a small giant can inspire others. Many people love the idea of an alternative to big corporations, and that can be an advantage with customers, employees, and the community.
