Over the years I have read business books voraciously. And every now and then one comes along that I find particularly useful. That’s certainly the case with Small Business, Big Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs by Adam and Matthew Toren. So what is it that makes this book a powerful?
Advice from the Trenches
Many of you know me as a leadership resource and I’m sure you imagine that I sit in soft chairs all day and tell other people lofty ideas about themselves. Here’s the part you may not know: That leadership role is very recent. I came up the hard way and learned business in the trenches. From there, I expanded into the natural space of coaching which always seemed so familiar to me. So, when I look at a business book I want to know that the entire breadth of business acumen is nested in what I’m reading. I look to see an appreciation of both the ‘nuts and bolts’ of business as well as the personal development that I know is the driver of good outcomes.
More about Camels
I am sure you have all heard the saying “follow your bliss, but don’t forget to tether the camel.” For many years I toiled at the task of tethering camels. I was a merger/acquisition specialist as well as an executive manager of many companies. I learned my leadership style by working like a donkey. I must confess, and I’m sure this comes as no surprise, that I respect the basic hard work of building a company. When I read Small Business, Big Vision, my expectation was that it would be heavy on vision and light on the hard-core execution pieces necessary to get the job done.
Surprise!
Every now and then someone pays attention to the whole symphony of entrepreneurial music. I would be shortchanging my commentary on this book if I didn’t tell you that it delivers something even more. Adam and Matthew have actually figured out a way to not only cover the two major drivers of business, but to place them in today’s environment. Yes, they start with the necessity of a big vision. And they cover the development of a business plan, accumulating investors, hiring good employees, and even the need for social media. Certainly a book worth the read for just those pieces.
Social Responsibility?
But my excitement really rose when I came to the chapter about socially responsible entrepreneurs. For here they had put their finger on the new wave of business today. It has always been my opinion that leadership is being pulled into the space of personal development as a result of the demand of our newest generations. New, young leaders have looked at the old corporate paradigm and come to an astounding conclusion: The corporate wingspan is not wide enough and does not benefit a large enough portion of the community from which they come. These new leaders are courageous enough to stand and say “I will not work where I am not nourished,” and nourishment to this crew means thrusting your ego aside, forgetting who gets credit, and creating the gratitude of seeing a world much bigger than themselves benefited.
Awakening and Tethering
My job is to bring this kind of awareness to larger corporations that now see that they must provide personal leadership development in order to keep the best leaders. But I will never forget my roots and I am gratified to see that someone is taking care of the small business and entrepreneurial market. For the best way to have a great business is to start with great basics. Small Business, Big Vision gives a blueprint to the new generation of entrepreneurs that will allow them to hold a possibility much bigger than the normal book about business plans. My book Awakened Leadership describes the personal journey and its relationship to business building. In every generation the story of how to build a business must be told in both the language and the wingspan of that very group. Adam and Matthew have done a great job of giving us the current version of the entrepreneurial story. In my mind it is a wonderful companion to my leadership story.
If you’re curious to learn more about Adam and Matthew Toren, please visit their site http://www.blogtrepreneur.com/.
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