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

People starting out in business tend to seek step-by-step formulas or specific rules, but in reality there are no magic bullets. Rather, says veteran entrepreneur Norm Brodsky, there’s a mentality that helps street-smart people solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise. He calls it “the knack,” and it has made all the difference to

After a long climb to the pinnacle of the hospitality industry, Chip Conley—CEO and founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality—was rocked to his foundation by a dramatic economic downturn. His company was suddenly undercapitalized and overexposed in the post-dot.com, post-9/11 economy. This desperate situation made Conley reaffirm his belief in psychologist Abraham Maslow’s iconic concept

Like college athletes, engaged employees are valuable, but entangled employees, like Olympians, are the ones who take an organization to new heights. What makes these top-performing employees have such an impact on the success of each of their organizations? What encourages their sense of organizational ownership? With deep insight into eight award-winning, market-leading companies, It’s My Company Too! explores

In April of 2000, Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer to buy his thriving company. Today, instead of taking it easy for the rest of his life and enjoying a luxurious retirement, he’s working harder than ever. Why would any sane person pass up the financial opportunity of a lifetime? Raising the Bar

Paul Spiegelman’s book tells the story of a successful health care call center business that could have morphed into a larger company by overseas outsourcing or cutting costs of employee benefits, but instead chose to focus on employee loyalty as the most important component of his company. The book explains low- or no-cost practices that

In the early 1980s, Springfield Remanufacturing  Corporation (SRC) in Springfield, Missouri, was a  near bankrupt division of International Harvester.  That’s when a green young manager, Jack Stack,  took over and turned it around. He didn’t know how to  ”manage” a company, but he did know about the  principal, of athletic competition and democracy:  keeping score, having fun, playing fair, providing  choice, and having

(Interview conducted by Raul Candeloro) We continue our exploration of new resources for entrepreneurs focused on building great businesses with this interview we recently conducted with Eric Sinoway, Author of Howard’s Gift. Eric was kind to enough to spend some time talking with us about his experience as an entrepreneur, the inspiration behind Howard’s Gift and

If starting a company is difficult, leading a company once the business has caught fire is infinitely more so. Thousands each year approach the dangerous transition that Doug Tatum calls No Man’s Land—when they are too big to be considered small but still too small to be considered big. Rapid growth is every entrepreneur’s dream,

In October 1985, at age twenty-seven, Danny Meyer, with a good idea and scant experience, opened what would become one of New York City’s most revered restaurants—Union Square Cafe. Little more than twenty years later, Danny is the CEO of one of the world’s most dynamic restaurant organizations, which includes eleven unique dining establishments, each

Small firms in Chicago employ more than 1.6 million individuals—nearly 50 percent of the private work force, according to a new study released this fall by the Small Business Administration. The survey, which defines small firms as those employing less than 500 people, also shows that these businesses generate 47 percent of the area’s total