Small Giants Community

Whether it’s the money pit that a bad hire can create to the absolute joy that comes from bringing in and nurturing the right person, the impact of a hire is felt broadly. In parts 1 and 2 of this series, we talked about the potential fallouts and successes that come from your hiring practices and got you acquainted with some of the leaders sharing their insights and the practices that define the makeup of their workplace.

In Part 3 of our 4-part series complementing the Small Giants Community webinar “Hiring Practices,” we unlock the door to show you four common elements that Small Giants share that enable them to have a great hiring practice. As a reminder, the companies we surveyed run the gamut of size and industry, from tiny shops to 350-employee, $35 million in annual revenues. Big, small, new and old,

Know Who You Are
Simple enough premise. But really something many companies struggle to understand. Independent of the product and your policies, you can’t force yourself to be one way or another. You especially can’t do that by cramming talent into your ideal. Have a clear understanding of your company and that will lay out the path for getting the right people in the door. Ron Alvesteffer of Service Express Inc. shares how defining themselves impacts their hires;

“Our eBook, The SEI Way has been huge for us in recruiting. It tells our story and is used to attract the right people for us....those who share our values. “

Cast Your Net With Familiarity
While there are a number of jobs to be had out there from the random and mass search, a position inside a Small Giant craves a familiarity that can’t be had from a general posting. To find like-minded people, the Small Giants interviewed find that starting off with people you know (internal candidates, contacts from internal candidates) and people who know you (followers in social media, contacts from community efforts) lends itself to skipping past the general candidate and on to the people who share in your beliefs and are looking for the right chance to contribute. A workplace environment like the one built by Tom Walter of Tasty Catering has proven to pare down his process even further, he doesn’t advertise open positions at all. Tom explains:

“We have not advertised for a job in over 20 years. Winning awards brings a lot of interest from outside our community. These awards include Catering Magazine's Caterer of the Year, Catersource Magazine's Midwest Caterer of the year and #1 Best Place to Work in Illinois. Hospitality students see these rankings and send resumes. We also have at least 7 speakers that represent TC. This allows exposure in many different areas: Green Programs, Leadership, Culture, Entrepreneurship, Brand Image, Generation Integration, Culinary Opportunities are some of the speech topics. We serve on three college boards and many community organizations. We hire the best and brightest from the local high schools and keep the best until they graduate from college. The best of those graduates are retained. Tasty Catering has become a program of attraction.”

Let Hiring Reinforce Your Values
By codifying your values into your hiring process, every successful candidate who becomes part of your team will be another person who carries your values forward. Don’t fall into the trap of hiring for a skill set. Just because someone can functionally accomplish the job doesn’t meant they’ll contribute across the company. Rob Dube of Image One employs time, people, environment and “feeling out” to make sure Image One is getting someone that goes beyond the required skill set. When it comes to incorporating values Rob focuses on:

“Many questions and lots of time spent with the candidate with various people within the company. Also, meeting not just in the office environment, but in other locations to get a feel for the person in a different setting. This also allows for them to get a better feel for us to ensure Image One is a place they want to work.”

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye (But it shouldn’t be)
Just like a door that locks behind you and leaves you wondering where an exit is, having a good hiring process isn’t complete if you don’t have a well defined way to let someone go who just wasn’t contributing the way your team needed. While letting a staff member go is a big enough topic to have its own series (and it will), it’s important for it to be recognized as part of the hiring process. Rob Dube of Image One shared how they take asking someone to leave as personally as they did to ask them to join:

“…we handle each circumstance based on the situation. We always take a human approach by having a heart to heart conversation with the person so they understand where we are, whether they agree or not. Most often, we offer a strong severance package (especially in this tough environment) so they have time to find another position and get back up on their feet.”

How Does It Happen?
If you’re a company with purpose and passion, the keys to bringing the right person on board strike a balance between philosophy and practices. 4 of those keys for Small Giants?

• Know Who You Are
• Cast Your Net With Familiarity
• Let Hiring Reinforce Your Values
• It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye (But it shouldn’t be)

So far we’ve introduced you to the good, the bad and the keys to hiring practices for Small Giants. Coming soon, you’ll have access to the next level of the Small Giants “Hiring Practices” webinar, including a more in-depth look via our upcoming white paper and more takeaways to help you build a great company.

This article is part of a multimedia series focusing on how to practically address workplace issues in pursuit of being a Small Giant. A featured webinar will be available to the public for purchase for $99 (FREE for Small Giants Community members) starting in mid-April. All webinars, related content, programs and site-based services are available free to members of the Small Giants Community. Membership in the community is $500 annually and available for purchase HERE.

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Previously
In part III of the Views from the Summit we continued the discussion of the challenges that Small Giants companies face from both an internal and cultural perspective. In the final installment, we’ll look at the common themes between the philosophies, purposes and practices of the companies that emerged from the discussion at the Small Giants International Summit.

By examining the combination of internal philosophies and solutions Small Giants use to address their challenges and drive their success – from definable tactics integrated into the workday to more general, conscious sentiments built around work philosophies – we’re able to see that a combination of factors allow the Small Giants values to take hold and drive a company.

Frequency
Summit attendees responded that a process focusing on vision or purpose had to be repeated often and be given regular maintenance in order for it to remain actionable.
1. Weekly team meetings “…Once a week, the company “stops” for 1 hour and we discuss issues together, share meals, success stories, problems and also unsuccessful stories. This makes people feel connected and gives the openness and transparency that is necessary for reaching people’s hearts….”
2. Codified core values that are integrated into communications and environment to reinforce their importance.

Embrace the Human Component
While it seems like a business that defines its success by more than just profit would inherently have a very human lean, Summit attendees doubly affirmed that having “people” at the center of the business was the defining element of a Small Giant. Stated simply about the key to success by Summit participants:

1. Make people feel relevant and loved.
2. It is about all the people.
3. If I’m not making my employees lives better, does it matter how much money I make?

Depth of Integration
Attendee responses support the idea that a business that defines itself by elements other than fiscal growth can’t stop at the surface when addressing the values set. From inclusion in the employment process to embedding the value set in every practice of the company.

1. Aligning our interview process with our core values. Realize how important a good boarding process really is to our business.
2. Codified core values.
3. Define your success by “why?”
4. Generating an unwavering focus on employee welfare, business stability, and passion/vision.

Bridging Gaps
Because of the traditional measures of success in business (growth) and the natural difference between employee motivations, the need to create a pathway between unaligned employees is an important part of insuring the success of Small Giants.
1. Communicate clearly with customers and employees about this paradigm of being successful.
2. Creating a focus on the right community progress with a diverse team of people with different community involvement attitudes.
3. Encouraging our people to value a new definition of being successful while the outside world takes a different tack

Where Does That Leave Us?
While there were many in-depth connections made among last year’s Summit participants, it stands to reason that there is a long road to bringing about a large scale adoption of the Small Giants values as a fundamental way to drive business success. Beyond the activities of the Small Giants Community and the interactions of the companies pursuing Small Giants values, Summit attendees expressed that a key to integration will not only be a long-standing campaign of promotion on the individual level and corporate level, but also needed was an introduction and partnership with the academic realm to for future business leaders currently pursuing their education.

While there are numerous challenges to the complete adoption of the Small Giants values in the business community, the diversity of experience and insights shared during the Summit serve as starting point for a deeper and broader discussion the Small Giants Community anticipates facilitating in the near and distant future.

As a four-part series, Views from the Summit parts I, II, III, and IV are available through www.smallgiants.org. To register for the 2012 Small Giants International Summit, click here. For more information about this series or the Small Giants Community, please reach us via the contact form at the top of the page.

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Previously In part II of the Views from the Summit we began discussing the challenges that face Small Giants companies from both an internal and cultural perspective. We last left off addressing the central themes Summit attendees noted from their efforts to change the definition of business success…

Focus on responsible growth

As mentioned in part II of the series, Small Giants leaders face a constant tension between “growth, revenue and the core ethos of the business”. Small Giants do not seek growth for growth sake or even rapid increase in revenues simply for recognition. Rather they find responsible paths to profitability that allows them to consciously grow the business in a way that supports the vision and values so important to their existence. Some of the thoughts participants shared included:

• We continue to focus on changing and finding new markets to get our company prepared for the challenges that are arising.
• We balance the need for metrics that track business outcomes with those for organizational culture and social/environment impact. Some aspects of Small Giants business practice do not require formal metrics. It’s about feeling, community, culture and….mojo.
• We consistently communicate with employees about this paradigm (business mojo) of being successful.

Aligning vision, maintaining values and focusing on responsible growth are not simple things according to these Small Giants. Rather, these key aspects of work are part of a constant effort to thrive in a business ocean whose currents want to pull you in a potentially different direction. Small Giants choose to swim against this current and have reaped great rewards as a result. (For additional perspective on the social and financial fulfillment experienced by companies with this alignment of values, reference Small Giants: Companies That Chose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham, Portfolio Books, 2005)

Reframing the Definition of Success in the Current Business Environment

Small Giants not only face the challenges of internalizing the core ideas shared previously, but they also must survive in a business community where the prevailing mindset is often much different. In fact it seems Small Giants not only operate their businesses, they often become ambassadors for these different business ideas in their local communities around the world. While cultures may be different across continents, let alone across national borders, there seems to be a common recognition of the challenges and opportunities for Small Giants to share this vital business message.

In asking Summit attendees their biggest challenge to changing the definition of success in their business community, the themes that emerged were quite consistent. Their responses provide for the awareness of opportunities and some of the steps they suggest in beginning to inject the idea of business mojo into conventional business thinking. As one participant shared, “Typically success is equated to money/profit. We tend to measure a person or company’s success based on financial metrics. Our biggest challenge is changing this mindset.”

This need to change the perception of success was echoed by many. With one attendee adding, “As most people think of success in terms of money, getting them to change their mind takes a lot of teaching and conviction. The challenge is how to find the time and energy to do this in addition to running a business.” This was an interesting perspective shared by many of the Small Giants. Not only were they business leaders, they were representatives, and even sales-people for this new way of looking at business.

Attendees offered a number of suggestions on how to begin to shift the business community mindset from creating new “measurable” indicators for business success, to establishing greater support for collaboration, partnership and knowledge sharing. Suggestions also included a recognition program for the qualities aligned with being a small giant to rival programs that acknowledged and rewarded rapid growth and even a private equity business in-line with and committed to supporting the cultural objectives of a Small Giant company.

It was evident that changing the prevailing perspective in the business community is and will continue to be a challenge for those operating with the mindset of a Small Giant. The powerful discovery in these discussions was that Small Giants themselves live the ideas of business mojo well beyond the boundaries of their own organization. They see this as a way of thinking and acting in business that should have a broader platform and bigger stage and they work tirelessly, sometimes even unconsciously to bring the Small Giants message to the communities in which they operate. While there may not be one way to do this, the attendees shared a commitment to the message and persistence in delivering it that will have a continued and expanding impact on the business community around the world. Their commitment is clear to a new mindset for business success.

Cultural Influences on the Adoption and Nurturing of Small Giants Values

It should be noted that the prevailing mindset of a community’s (and on a larger scale, national) culture has anecdotally shown to affect a business leader’s propensity to be open to the application of Small Giants values to their business. For example, in the US, events like wide scale damages from toxic mortgage backed securities inspired many American business leaders to proactively seek a more fulfilling workplace environment or the massive struggles of the American automakers inspired a shift to small community based businesses to revitalize Detroit.

A topic of note from conversation at the Summit, was the potential that coming from emerging entrepreneurial communities in formerly socialist environments lent itself to building businesses that placed the impact on their communities at a premium. This is reflected in the following, provided by an attendee from a former Eastern Bloc country:

• We have an entrepreneurial community that is very young, so we haven’t been as greatly influenced by Western culture and mindsets. So while we’re learning what it means to be an entrepreneur, our history still influences us to contribute to what’s around us. There’s very much a sense of a social and community responsibility for growing businesses.

So the questions arise, can this perspective be applied on a greater level to all emerging entrepreneurial economies? Will an introduction to Western business definitions and mindsets still allow for a quicker adoption of Small Giants values? Additional insight and interaction both domestically and internationally is needed before a greater assessment can be made.

In the final installment of Views from the Summit, we’ll examine and share practices that leaders from around the globe who are currently pursuing the Small Giants values are utilizing to run their businesses.

As a four-part series, Views from the Summit parts I, II and III are available through www.smallgiants.org. To register for the 2012 Small Giants International Summit, click here. For more information about this series or the Small Giants Community, please reach us via the contact form at the top of the page.

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Creating A New Mindset for Business Success: The Biggest Challenge and Opportunity in Being a Small Giant

A New Mindset for Business Success

A central theme at the Small Giant’s Summit was the focus on and reinforcement of the central values of business mojo. While some overlook the idea that “you do not have to be big to be great”, others argue the exact opposite. This is a central point of debate for Small Giants as they turn to the values of their organizations and connect to the people that support them first before using the desire for growth in dollars and/or size to overwhelm them.

This is not to suggest that growth for growth’s sake or striving for profit is bad. Rather it calls for us to look at our business mindset for what is most important. The reality of business is that we need to be profitable in order to survive. But for Small Giants what does survival and success mean? It is not just about the creation of wealth through rapid growth or success due to increased size, rather it is creating a viable and vital business operation that offers opportunities for those that contribute to it.

Talk to a small giant leader and you will regularly hear that by building business success they provide for the livelihoods and lifestyles of their people. When a Small Giant is successful, its people reap the benefits as well. This is well beyond a mindset of profit for the sake of profit, to the understanding that by providing an organization that has satisfied employees, you will ensure satisfied customers. And what do satisfied customers bring…sustained profitability.

While profitability is the goal of all small business, it is the perspective through which it is viewed that distinguishes a Small Giant and exemplifies the participants at the summit. They achieved success and profitability, not by the sole desire for profit, but by executing successfully on a core set of values that ensure a new type of success, one that puts people before profit, but in essence guarantees profit for its people.

This subtle shift in focus is significant and challenges the conventional business mindset. It also makes the road that Small Giants choose to follow not always easy, but as you hear when you engage them, the challenge is worth the satisfaction and results that it brings. At the end of the day fulfillment of employees and profitability for business are not distinct outcomes, but rather indelibly linked. This way of thinking is powerful, yet differs greatly from much of the mainstream business community’s definition of success.

The participants at the Summit were asked to address this challenge both in their business directly and within the communities they operated. Their responses were raw, challenging and enlivening. The commitment to “business mojo” is clearly strong and the opportunity for this idea to take root at the foundation of the dialogue on business performance is clear. By understanding and recognizing the challenges they share, Small Giants can continue to thrive and affect all those they encounter. Here is what we can learn from those leaders…

Reframing the Definition of Success in Your Business

Reframing the definition of success is an effort in two parts, the first to engage the thinking within the organization, and the second, to engage the business community around you. This segmentation is important to recognize, as it calls for two distinct conversations – one with your people, the other with your peers. The conventional (and primarily Western) perspective of success as size and dollars are ingrained in people through stories, education and the popular press. So while people in business might believe in values, we still must address this prevailing wisdom and find methods to communicate with and engage employees.

Participants at the Summit were asked about the biggest challenges to changing the definition of business success in their company. The central themes that emerged were:

Align your vision

A definition of success can only emerge from alignment in purpose and vision. It is critical to ensure all key players understand and are onboard with the direction you want to take your business. With alignment comes greater clarity and the ability to move people forward together. Some of the thoughts participants shared included:

• One of our challenges has been our lack of a common vision among equal owners on who we want to be and where we want to go.
• We are working to agree on a definition of success, which can be felt, understood, and embraced by all stakeholders.
• We have defined our vision and are effectively communicating this to our employees, vendors, & community. In the past, we have been very moved by change. Sometimes steering off course. Our biggest challenge is coming back and sticking with our original purpose!

Maintain your values (and therefore the “presence” of your business)

At the core of being a Small Giant are the values you bring not only to the work you do, but more importantly, to how you do it. Living these values becomes an important internal effort. It is one that not only is felt within the walls of your company, but also experienced by all who encounter your business. Some of the thoughts participants shared included:

• We have to be clear in reinforcing that success is not a result of the size of the organization. Growth shouldn’t always be a company’s priority.
• We are looking at redefining our business model, so that it best matches the growth phases for our company, but retains the qualities of being a Small Giant.
• We have focused on how to balance growth, revenue and the core ethos of the business – to maintain an authentic product with an authentic voice that has strong relationships with customers, suppliers, staff, etc., while reaching the broadest possible audience.

As a four-part series, Views from the Summit parts I and II are available through www.smallgiants.org. To register for the 2012 Small Giants International Summit, click here. For more information about this series or the Small Giants Community, please reach us via the contact form at the top of the page.

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Sustaining an international movement that serves to not only redefine small business success, but support those who believe in and pursue that new definition requires more than an ideal and a website. It demands an interaction on a personal level, because these businesses leaders inherently blur the line between professional and personal values. An avenue for discussion, collaboration, challenge, practice sharing and academic perspective development, the Small Giants International Summit was designed to be an initial global connector and incubator for individuals passionate about running businesses filled with “business mojo.”

What is “Business mojo?”

Members of the Small Giants Community define themselves by six values and characteristics that Bo Burlingham recognized as the common denominators for the companies profiled in the book Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big. He coined the combination of these values and characteristics as “business mojo.” These include:

• Clear Vision - Leaders know who they are, what they want out of business, and why.

• Community Based – Deeply rooted in the communities in which it does business.

• Relationship Driven – Maintain close, personal ties with customers and suppliers.

• Fulfillment Focus – Practices a culture of intimacy, based on “caring for people in the totality of their lives” and a mutual understanding and appreciation of the responsibilities of owners and employees toward one another.

• Passion for the Business - Leaders have a burning passion for what the company does.

• Sound Finance - Has a sustainable business model and takes care to protect its gross margins.

And with an eye toward gaining a better understanding of these values as applied to businesses and communities alike, it’s important we take time to consider the backgrounds and influences of the companies in attendance at the Small Giants International Summit.

Who Were the Summit Participants?

An inherent part of the conversation between leaders of companies that are pursuing Small Giants values is the diversity of the participants. Being organized by the values based Small Giants Community, the Summit eliminated traditional barriers to interaction such as geography, industry, revenue size, etc. Leaders that would not typically cross professional paths were afforded the opportunity to share practices, policies and behaviors with like-minded individuals coming from vastly different experiences.

The Summit’s 55 participants from 13 countries came from a broad range of industries including: Manufacturing, social investment, consulting, patient experience, jeweler, sales publishing, catering/service and software design. Leaders participating represented companies ranging in size from single practitioners to more than 350 employees with annual revenues from $250,000 to $33 million.

What was covered at the Summit?

At the Small Giants International Summit, presentations and workshops were conducted under two tracks, professional practices and development of the Small Giants values in the business community.

During the practice based sessions, attendees focused on evaluating their businesses in relation to open book management, the value of culture, how to bridge the growth gap, challenges inherent to running values based businesses and evaluation of workplace structure. Inside of the values development course, attendees focused on the challenges and opportunities that go along with the introduction of Small Giants values to the business community and the potential impact behind the development of the Small Giants values in professional cultures around the world.

While this series will not focus on the specific content of the presentations and workshops conducted at the Small Giants International Summit, examples of this content are available through the Small Giants Community at www.smallgiants.org.

Summit article seriesThis whitepaper series is a compilation of thoughts and perspectives from the Small Giants International Summit. The perspectives, examples and views provided are culled directly from the practices and experiences of Summit attendees.

To create a sustainable and impactful influence on the small business leaders of tomorrow, the Small Giants Community supports practice based learning as a complement to traditional theory taught in the classroom. Three key components that this whitepaper series address include:

• Introduction of the alternative ideals of defining success for future and current entrepreneurs
• Provide an avenue for current business practices of values driven small business leaders to be studied and adopted
• Deliver a global perspective on small business practices and success terms for leadership

Looking at the direction of this series, here’s an overview of what will be discussed.

Series subjects and findings to be further explored include:
Views from the Summit -- Introduction

- Six Values/Characteristics of Small Giants
- Overview
- Summit Goals
- Summit Participant Background
- Format and session content

Views from the Summit #2 – Challenges, Pt. 1
- The Importance of Changing the Small Business Success Mindset
- Creates a foundation for sustainable growth and employment
- Creates a greater sense of life fulfillment for employees and employers
- Attendee Challenges on Changing the Definition of Success Inside Their Businesses
- Difficulty in finding methods that communicate and engage employees

Views from the Summit #3 – Challenges, Pt. 2• Attendee Challenges on Changing the Definition of Success Inside Their Businesses
- More conventional/Western business success tenets are ingrained in employees and their environment
- Difficulty in finding methods that communicate and engage employees
- Anecdotal Perspectives on the Cultural Influences Toward the Adoption of Small Giants Values
- Varying business environments for European, South American, North American, Asian and Australian business leaders directly impact the reception of the message and force a critical examination of what communication and practices would effectively impart the message

Views from the Summit #4 – Practices
- Common themes and foundational agreements between the philosophies, purposes and practices of the companies that came together for discussion at the Small Giants International Summit.
- Value of practical learning from Small Giants perspectives
- Values are more easily explained and accepted when demonstrated in physical practice
- Peer experiences are translatable across industries because of a shared value set

As a four-part series, Views from the Summit parts I, II and III are available through www.smallgiants.org. To register for the 2012 Small Giants International Summit, click here. For more information about this series or the Small Giants Community, please reach us via the contact form at the top of the page.

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