University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Be the Elephant
Book

Be the Elephant

Build a Bigger, Better Business

Steve Kaplan
Workman Publishing, 2007
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Steve Kaplan communicates his vast business-development experience in focused, easily understandable prose. His writing is punchy and filled with illustrative vignettes to illustrate his points in an easy, entertaining way. While you must have frontline experience to build your organization, the basics Kaplan provides are a sound, necessary complement. He explains these core principles compactly and keeps the technical aspects fairly light. This sales and business growth manual is not directed to the sophisticated strategist, but to the bullet-point level entrepreneur who wants the how-to-expand formula without a lot of if-this-then-that discussion. getAbstract can report from experience that informative reading on nurturing your business that is also this entertaining and accessible is hard to find.

Summary

The Joy of Aging

As a general rule, businesses must grow or die. A company cannot just park itself at a comfortable size as the market continues to move and change around it. Failure to grow leaves gaps that your competitors can exploit. Whether your small business remains static because you fear risk, resist change, lack knowledge or can’t relinquish the past, the consequences are often the same. If you don’t grow, you will find it harder to compete in the ever-changing marketplace.

Once you make the sensible decision to grow, don’t think that by simply pumping up revenues, only good things will follow. Carefully plan your approach to growth and err on the side of caution. While some ill-prepared businesspeople might get lucky enough to right their ships when storms hit, many others sink quickly. Analyze what you need to support growth, and figure out how to provide that capacity while still making a profit. Otherwise, growth will become a curse. Consider your sales, your infrastructure and what you will need to learn.

Building a Foundation

First, be sure you understand your current business. Is the company as healthy as you think? Be sure you have a...

About the Author

Steve Kaplan, a consultant and the author of the bestseller Bag the Elephant, works on helping businesses grow and improve.

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