Let Go To GROW
By Doug & Polly White
Small businesses have a big impact on our economy, they:
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Represent 99.7% of all employers
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Create 75% of net new jobs
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Employ about 50% of all private sector workers
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Number 22.9 million
The U.S. economy is sluggish at best. If it�s to turn around, the
above statistics show that small businesses will have to lead the
way. But, too often, small business owners unwittingly stall the
growth of their own companies.
Authors and business partners, Doug and Polly White, have written a
new book, Let Go To GROW, to help small business owners
understand how to avoid the pitfalls they will inevitably encounter
as their companies grow. It shows these leaders how to direct their
enterprises on a path of continued growth while sidestepping the
traps that ensnare so many.
By reading Let Go To GROW, small business owners will
discover that in order to take their business to the next level,
they will have to relinquish certain tasks and their skill set will
have to morph to keep pace with the changing demands of a growing
business. After analyzing more than 100 businesses, the Whites
learned that principals must Let Go To GROW. This insight can
revolutionize a small business, and change lives along the way.
Let Go To GROW
examines the challenges entrepreneurs face as their businesses grow
from micro to small, and from small to midsize. The Whites define
businesses in an innovative way � not in terms of revenue or number
of employees, but rather in terms of management structure.
Accordingly, they define a micro business as one in which the
principal is doing the primary work of the enterprise. In a small
business, the principal is managing those who do the primary work;
when a company reaches midsize, the principal is managing managers.
These may sound like subtle changes, but they define the points
where the principal�s role must change or growth will stall. Their
work uncovered new insights that have not been discussed in the
business world � until now. Through the authors� extensive research
as well as 50-plus combined years of business experience, Let Go
To GROW explores topics including:
�
When in the life-cycle of a business the role of the principal needs
to change
�
The one thing that most often stalls the growth of small businesses
�
Key things a prospective entrepreneur should know before he/she
starts or buys a business
�
How to make good tactical decisions, develop an effective strategy,
develop an effective market segmentation and effectively set goals
�
Why the core of any successful business is hiring the right people,
and how to do it
�
The inevitable challenges that a company will encounter as it
transitions from micro to small to midsize
�
How to effectively document processes and develop a robust set of
metrics, and why it is critically important to do so
�
The value of quality improvement and cycle-time reduction
The publication chronicles the predictable challenges principals
face and how to successfully overcome them. Unlike many business
books, it addresses not only what needs to be done, but also
explains how to do it.
�During the course of our consulting work,� says Doug, �we
discovered a number of businesses that had stalled because the owner
did not delegate. The principal was out of capacity, typically
working 80-hours or more a week. Their personal life was gone. Their
businesses had stopped growing and profitability was a thing of the
past. We saw other businesses that were in serious trouble because
the principal had delegated prematurely.�
�We wrote our book,� adds Polly, �to help businesses that reach the
junctures where the principal must Let Go To GROW, and all
growing businesses will.�
(Doug and Polly White are partners at Whitestone Partners, Inc., a
management consulting firm guiding small and midsize businesses
through profitable growth. Combined, they have more than 50 years of
experience enabling companies to achieve their goals.)
For more information on the authors
click
here.
