Be the Elephant

In business, there's no standing still. The trick is to become an elephant—big enough to make a difference, healthy enough to withstand financial currents, strong enough to influence your market—and smart enough to avoid the pitfalls of growth. With Be the Elephant, bestselling author Steve Kaplan provides the business-growing playbook for every entrepreneur, CEO, sales professional, small business owner, and manager alike. The strategy, the process, the toolbox. Written in a friendly, no-nonsense style, Be the Elephant takes the mystery and the fear out of growing bigger. It shows you how to address potential downsides, point by point, and provides a 25-question quiz to gauge your business's current health. There are lessons in strengthening sales, a business's front line. Vertical and horizontal growth. Risk versus reward. How to avoid the twin dilemmas inherent in growth—grow too slowly and wither, or grow too fast and lose control. And finally, how to chart it and start it, from developing an all-important USP—unique selling proposition—to avoiding the Five Killer Mistakes that can ruin a company. And from there, how to go forth and Be the Elephant