Many people have bought and read the book Good To Great by Jim Collins. It has already sold over 2 million copies and is the number one best seller. For those of you who have never heard of it, it is a book which shows some of the best companies (based on certain criteria mentioned in the book), and compares them with "good" companies. It then shows what those companies have done, that the other "comparison companies" didn't do. It is written in an expository format, so the applications aren't directly stated. The companies are also larger multi-million/billion dollar organizations so the results may differ with smaller companies. However, that being said there are still many applications that small businesses can get from the book. Here are some of the practical ways that you can help your small business, using techniques mentioned in the book. 1) Hire Great Employees When you look for business partners, managers, or any other employee that will have a significant impact on your business, make sure that you find really good ones. If the potential employees aren't perfect than don't hire them. It is much easier to turn down one employee, and hire a new one, than it is to fire one, and then hire a new one. 2) Become a Great Leader In Good to Great they describe something called a level 5 leader. Essentially a level 5 leader is a person who has high will power, and humility. The other characteristic of a "level 5 leader" is that they have a great care for the companies success. They are highly ambitious people, however, there ambition is mainly used for the companies success. In every "Great" Company, there was a "level 5 leader" at the top. If you are the owner of the business, a manager, or otherwise important employee, try to become a level 5 leader. 3) Find out Your Companies Core Values Every individual and every company has something that they are passionate about. Something, that benefits the world, and that they enjoy being part of. You should try to focus your company around this passion. You should find the one thing that your company feels is valuable to society, and use that as the building block for growing your company. It doesn't necessarily have to be a bunch of things, you don't have to do everything good in the world, but you should just have one thing that benefits people. This makes you and your employees enjoy your company, and want to work there because they know they're making a difference in the world. It does not matter what your companies core values are, it's just important that they exist. For example WalMart did not care about quality as much as some other companies, however one of their core values was offering products at an affordable price. Another example is Phillip Morris. They did not have the core value of health built into their company, however one thing that was very important to them, was there right to smoke. 4) Be the Best at Something The "Great" companies figured out what they could become the best at, and they did just that. If you can't become the best fast food restaurant, then don't sell fast food. If your not the best in that market, then people will buy from the person who is the best. You must either offer the best: Price, Quality, Service, or something else that makes your company better than another one in some way. If you can't do this, then you must look for a completely new industry to get into. 5) Avoid Strict Hierarchy This usually isn't too much of a problem with small businesses, however it does still happen occasionally, especially as the company starts to grow. You must make sure that your company doesn't become too bureaucratic, otherwise, you will end up getting very little accomplished. I highly recommend that you read the book Good to Great, and that you look for techniques that you can apply to your own small business. The book will make a lot more sense than this article has.
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