In several recent reviews, I have quoted remarks by Jack Welch when explaining why he admires small businesses: "For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy."
In his E-Myth Mastery, Michael Gerber cites the following statistics: "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday." Everything Welch says is true in terms of the potential advantages which small businesses have and the statistics which Gerber cites suggests that very few of them know how to achieve and then sustain those advantages.
I include these quotations now because they are directly relevant to what Miller and Le Breton-Miller offer in their own book, Managing for the Long Run. For owners and other decision-makers now involved with family businesses, they explain HOW to achieve and then sustain a competitive advantage. True, various "lessons" were revealed by the authors' rigorous and extensive research on a number of family-controlled businesses (FCB) which have become major corporations, notably Cargill, Hallmark Cards, L.L. Bean, Motorola, and Wal-Mart.
It is important to remember, however, that all of them had modest origins and during that perilous period encountered most (if not all) of the same challenges which FCB start-ups now face. Most of the most valuable business books were written to answer critically important questions. In this instance: What distinguishes great family businesses? (Please see Chapter 1.) A related question: What are the "potent priorities" of great family-controlled businesses? (Please see Chapter 2.) Another related question: Why do so many family-controlled businesses stumble? (Please see Chapter 8.) In between Chapters 2 and 8, Miller and Le Breton-Miller focus on five primary characteristics: brand building, craftsmanship, operations, innovation, and deal making. They devote a separate chapter to each. I prefer not to list their key points which are best revealed within the narrative's frame-of-reference and sequential context. However, I now express my appreciation of various Tables and Grids which so efficiently illustrate the cohesion, indeed interdependence of what the authors characterize as "The Four Cs": Command, Continuity, Community, and Connections.
All of the specific mental and business models, strategies, tactics, values, and applications which Miller and Le Breton-Miller recommend are based on their conviction that "the only way to sustain good performance is to [begin italics] act in the best interests of the company and all its stakeholders. [end italics] First, boards and top managers must be motivated to be courageous and farsighted stewards. Second, they need to concentrate on and invest deeply in a substantive, enduring mission. Third, they must assemble a unified, value-driven staff that uses its initiative for the interests of the whole firm. Finally, they must form enduring, win-win relationships with external partners."
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Gerber's most recent E-Myth book. Also Gary Harpst's Six Disciplines for Excellence, Steven S. Little's The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Success, and Jason Jennings' Think Big, Act Small. |
Managing For The Long Run: Lessons In Competitive Advantage From Great Family Businesses Used Books New.