07.12.2010

Get Your Small Business Mojo On

What’s your vision for your business? Is it getting big, growing as fast as possible? Or is it being great? Because not all great companies are large. And not all large companies are great. It’s that distinction that led author Bo Burlingham on a two-year journey to discover and explore some of the truly great companies in the United States.

Businesses that have an innate magnetism, a mojo, as Burlingham calls it, that attracts customers, makes employees hyper-loyal and connects the company to its community in very real and tangible ways. In his book, Small Giants (2006, Portfolio), Burlingham goes behind the scenes of 14 very different, yet very real organizations: All of them privately owned. Most of them with fewer than 100 employees.

At some point in their business lives, each of the organizations profiled had the opportunity to grow and grow quickly. Yet all of them chose instead to focus on their core, stay loyal to their roots and become the best at what they do — whether that’s making music or brewing beer, building picture frames or backup warning lights for commercial vehicles.

The first Small Giant Burlingham encountered was Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the subject of an article he was writing for Inc. Magazine. “Zingerman’s had the opportunity to get a lot bigger, a lot faster,” he explains. “But they had goals that they considered to be more important than getting as big as possible as fast as possible."

Small Giants represents a fundamental shift in how we are taught to define success. The media, banks, accountants, investors and others celebrate growth. Prevailing wisdom strikes close to the entrepreneur’s spirit. Growth = Success. Bigger is always better.

That’s not to say that growth is a bad thing. But according to Burlingham, having a good growth rate and delivering steady profits says a lot about the skill of the management team, but it doesn’t tell you whether that company is contributing something great and unique to the world. What sets Small Giants apart, explains Burlingham, are five common traits that exists regardless size or industry.

1. Vision. Every Small Giant is led by people who know who they are, what they want out of a business and why. These leaders articulate a higher purpose for their organizations. They demonstrate it and imbue it among employees, which can be highly motivating. Because: “Having a great business is one way of making a better world.” 
2. Community. Small Giants are deeply rooted in the communities where they do business. Not only do they have very close ties to the community and give back to the community, but the community shapes the personality of the company itself. 
3. Relationships. These companies cultivate very close personal ties with customers and suppliers, often relying on personal one-on-one contact. And not just through the CEO. Every employee understands the value of relationships to their own success and responds accordingly. 
4. Employees. In Small Giants, employees came first, even before customers. Employees have the direct relationships with customers. And employees are not inclined to take care of other people if they don’t feel like the company is taking care of them. So Small Giants go above and beyond to show employees in unexpected ways how much the company cares about them. That means more than just the standard holiday bonus. Sometimes it means recognizing challenges and opportunities facing employees and making the effort to go the extra mile. 
5. Passion. Leaders of Small Giants love what they do. They can’t imagine doing anything else. Sure, they make mistakes. But they care deeply about their company, their relationships with employees and their customers that they nurture and protect those bonds above all else. Even personal gain and growth. 

After his book was published, Burlingham discovered one additional quality that all his giants shared. They all were founded on sound business models and protected their gross margins. “There is nothing about being a Small Giant that negates the basic rules of business,” says Burlingham. “You’ve got to have enough cash to pay your bills. If you run out of cash, you are out of business.”

The recent economic downturn has pushed many small businesses to the brink, but the Small Giants are still growing and thriving. In fact, hard times, while challenging, can bring out the best in a company. “I was just at Zingerman’s a few weeks ago,” says Burlingham. “Although business has been hard and business has been down. The spirit of the place hasn’t changed at all. And rather than pull back or just maintain all that they do in the community, they have expanded it.”

Small Giants exist in every industry and in every part of the country. In his book, Bo Burlingham profiles these 14 companies. Since then, he says, he’s found many, many more.

• Anchor Brewing, San Francisco, CA: one of the oldest and finest microbreweries in America
• CitiStorage, Inc., Brooklyn, NY: a leading independent records storage company
• Clif Bar & Co., Berkeley, CA: makers of organic energy bars and nutrition foods
• ECCO, Boise, ID: manufacturer of backup alarms and amber warning lights for commercial vehicles
• Hammerhead Productions, Studio City, CA: supplier of computer-generated special effects for the motion picture industry
• Righteous Babe Records, Buffalo, NY: singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco’s record company
• Union Square Hospitality Group, New York City, NY: restaurateur Danny Meyer’s acclaimed group of eateries across New York
• Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, Ann Arbor, MI: the famous Zingerman’s Deli and seven other related businesses
• O.C. Tanner Co., Salt Lake City, UT: one of the world’s largest providers of employee recognition and service awards
• Reell Precision Manufacturing, St. Paul, MN: designer and manufacturer of motion-control products
• Rhythm & Hues Studio, Los Angeles, CA: where computer-generated character animation and special effects come to life
• Selima Inc., Miami Beach, FL: providing fashion design and dressmaking for an exclusive clientele
• The Goltz Group, Chicago, IL: one of the best known, independent framing businesses, owner of Artists’ Frame Service
• W.L. Butler Construction Inc., Redwood City, CA: a general contracting firm specializing in major commercial projects. 

Wondering if your company can be considered a Small Giant, or just want to learn more about what it takes to be one? A community of business owners has organically sprung up on the Internet at www.smallgiants.org. Business owners from around the world, including Europe, Asia, South America and here at home are online discussing what it means to be a Small Giant and how they can apply the principles that made companies like Zingerman’s, Anchor Brewing and ECCO great businesses.

“Technology has certainly changed the economics of scaling a business,” says Burlingham. “And it is allowing people all over the world to share the Small Giants message through this new and growing community.” Like the book, Small Giants members are “moving beyond the pressure of endless growth to define success by not only the bottom line, but also by the contributions to the community, dedication to great customer service and creation and preservation of workplace cultures of excellence.”

As they say: “It’s not what we do. It’s who we are.”

— by Tony Labriola