Small Giants
by Bo Burlingham · first published 2005
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Profiles of companies that chose to grow deliberately and stay excellent rather than get big; many were profitable, employee-owned, or lightly funded. Suits business owners weighing growth versus sustainability.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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 Small Giants, veteran journalist Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside fourteen remarkable companies that have chosen to march to their own
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Theres a great book about companies that do exactly that. It's called "Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big" by Bo Burlingham.
on “Wikipedia is loaded, so why’s it asking for donations?” ↗The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber - its all about vision, systems, and building a business that can scale. Small Giants by Bo Burlingham
on “What books have you found to be helpful in starting your business?” ↗I would recommend the book Small Giants by Bo Burlingham where the stories of 1 person companies to few hundred people companies are told and these companies have been around for many many years. They did not attempt to be not unicorns and…
on “Startup Playbook” ↗…unorthodox, but I wish more companies focused on staying sustainable rather than trying to grow continuously (or making growth the only goal of the company). A good book on the topic: https://www.amazon.com/Small-Giants-Companies-Instead-10th-A...
on “Apple’s Social Network” ↗…scale. The Objective and Key Results approach can be effective for anyone from a single contributor to a large organization trying to encourage a culture of effective collaboration and achievement. 3. Small Giants by Bo Burlingham The stories about a handful of companies that chose to be great rather than big. Some of the other books that I have enjoyed are listed here: https://behavioralvalueinvestor.com/other-interesting-books/
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗The book: Small Giants. This entire book is literally about companies that focus on deliberately growing but still staying excellent. Many were profitable and didn't raise a lot of outside funding. Many also were strongly…
on “What are the most indispensable books for indie hackers?” ↗Besides resources like Indie Hackers, I highly recommend everyone here read Small Giants (https://www.amazon.com/Small-Giants-Companies-Instead-10th-A...) which focuses on companies that have outsized impact feeling the pressure to grow. They profile companies that have 2 to 2,000 (or so?)…
on “We bootstrapped our open source Google Analytics alternative to $500k ARR” ↗…of are small, < 200 folks) actually have a chance of maintaining a coherent, caring culture. Not to say that folks don't get laid off or tough decisions made, but humanity is still present. I enjoyed Small Giants for more profiles of these kinds of companies: https://www.amazon.com/Small-Giants-Companies-Instead-10th-A...
on “Thoughts on getting laid off after nine years at Twilio” ↗on of my favourite books is "Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big" by Bo Burlingham. It's worth a read if this is something that interests you.
on “Reddit Strike Has Started” ↗> We could have grown at many points along the way but haven't wanted to. Instead we've stayed small, focused and profitable. You're a "Small Giant": https://www.amazon.com.au/Small-Giants-Bo-Burlingham/dp/0143...
on “I don’t want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency” ↗Three books that really show the good, bad and ugly about building businesses from scratch and scaling them to significance: 1. How to Get Rich (http://bit.ly/xGdV8) 2. Small Giants (http://bit.ly/WpvGa) 3. The Knack (http://bit.ly/OcKa9) [no affiliate links] A warning though - many 'start-up to success' books are, in my view, hampered by what I consider exceptional circumstances…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite management books?” ↗There are lots of business that do exactly that. Give Small Giants a read, it's really quite interesting. http://www.smallgiantsbook.com/
on “Can Etsy Scale?” ↗…as well as you can at a lower price (perhaps by subsidizing at first to gain market share). This doesn't apply to all industries nor all products and services that can be offered. I suggest reading, "Small Giants." Not everyone wants to do business with big players. Some people are forced to due to lower prices and their diminished funds, but not everyone is in that boat. Small, privately owned business can operate…
on “A lesson on thinking and acting long term” ↗…About the Bike Dot. Bomb Founders at Work The PayPal Wars Coders at Work The Mousedriver Chronicles Leaving Microsoft to Change the World The Soul of a New Machine Startup The Hypomanic Edge Small Giants Small is the New Big Four Hour Work Week The Boy who Harnessed the Wind Four Steps to the Epiphany Pour your Heart into it Beyond Software Architecture Setting the Table --- DESIGN / UX --- On…
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗Two books that changed my way of thinking about business are, Small Giants and The Responsible Entrepreneur. I read them when I was young, so more than changing me, they have me a direction and a basis on what to focus. I read some chapters now and then...
on “Ask HN: Books that change your way of thinking?” ↗