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The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce
is kicking off a new book club that convenes a
dialogue around cutting-edge ideas and timeless management
practices. The first book selected for the membership to
read is Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great
Instead of Big. The book is available from the Chamber of
Commerce and the book club will meet on April 13th at 8:00
to discuss the books themes, principles, and management
practices. To enroll in the Book Club call 379-4457.
A little
teaser about the book…
It’s an axiom of business that great
companies grow their revenues and profits year after year.
Yet quietly, under the radar, a small number of companies
have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on
more satisfying business goals. Goals like being great at
what they do . . . creating a great place to work . . .
providing great customer service . . . making great
contributions to their communities . . . and finding great
ways to lead their lives.
In the book 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 founded by singer-songwriter
Ani DiFranco; Union Square Hospitality Group, the company
of restaurateur Danny Meyer; and Zingerman’s Community of
Businesses, including the world-famous Zingerman’s Deli of
Ann Arbor.
The book aims to do for small private
companies what In Search of Excellence did two decades ago
for big public companies: shine a light on a handful of
business practices the author admires, and which he
believes are the reason some companies consistently do
better than others. Burlingham shows how the leaders of
these small giants recognized the full range of choices
they had about the type of company they could create. And
he shows how we can all benefit by questioning the usual
definitions of business success. In his new afterward,
Burlingham reflects on the similarities and learning
lessons from the small giants he covers in the book. |
