16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now what?, September 14, 2007
This review is from: No Man's Land: What to Do When Your Company Is Too Big to Be Small but TooSmall to Be Big (Hardcover)
Curious to know the origin of the word adolescent, I checked the Online Etymology Dictionary and this is what I found: "1482, from M.Fr. adolescent, from L. adolescentem (nom. adolescens), pp. of adolescere "grow up," from ad- "to" + alescere "be nourished," hence, "increase, grow up," inchoative of alere "to nourish" (see old). The adj. is first attested in 1785." According to Doug Tatum, most (if not all) organizations resemble human beings in that they also proceed from birth through infancy to childhood; then into adolescence, an especially critical stage of their development. They require different kinds of nourishment in order to "increase, " "grow up," etc. Not all become mature. In fact, only a small percentage of them do. Consider these statistics that Michael Gerber shares in E-Myth Mastery: "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." These are indeed chilling statistics, as are those that Tatum cites in his book.
As he explains, thousands of public and private firms each year reach a point in their development, "an inflection point at which they are transformed from small to large, from upstarts to new business categories, from intriguing ideas to America's [if not the world's] de facto research and development department." In this book, Tatum focuses this pivotal stage in a business's life cycle, "the adolescent stage in which a rapidly growing firm is too big to be small, but too small to be big." This is the "no man's land" to which the title refers, a transitional stage in the life of a business that is "treacherous geographical terrain."
In this book, Tatum achieves a number of separate but related objectives:
1. He provides a "map" that will enable C-level executives (especially entrepreneurs) to determine their business' current location, either before entering or after having entered No Man's Land.
2. He helps those whose business has yet to reach No Man's Land to prepare for the perils that await them there.
3. He helps those whose business is now in No Man's Land to make appropriate decisions that will enable their business to reach the next stage of the life cycle.
Note: In this context, I am reminded of Oliver Wendell Holmes' observation, "I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity." The No Man's Land to which Tatum refers is analogous to the complexity to which Holmes refers.
4. Meanwhile, Tatum achieves another objective that I consider the most important of all: he enables decision-makers to complete a series of reality checks to measure the effectiveness of their business' market alignment, management competence, business model, and allocation of resources. He correctly stresses the importance of sustaining sufficient momentum (the "fifth M") to push their business through No Man's Land.
Presumably he agrees with Thomas Edison that "vision without execution is hallucination" and with a corollary I now presume to suggest, that execution without vision is expediency. Tatum is to be commended for providing a brilliant analysis of the most difficult transition any organization encounters, whatever its size and nature may be: preparing for and then navigating its way through No Man's Land.
In the final chapter, Tatum shifts his attention to "a national treasure": innovative firms that experience explosive growth. David Birch characterizes them as "gazelles" among three species, the other two being "mice" (i.e. small companies) and "elephants" (i.e. large, established companies). Of course, not all gazelles complete a transition through No Man's Land, reach escape velocity, and growth to the success that lies beyond. I share Tatum's high regard for those that complete that immensely difficult process and commend him to explaining how many other gazelles could also do so if (huge "if") they nail the fundamentals (i.e. the five Ms).
Tatum's rock-solid advice can also be of substantial benefit to decision-makers in large, established companies. Years ago, while CEO of GE, Jack Welch explained why he admired "small, sleek companies" and what GE could learn from them. "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."
As Doug Tatum so convincingly explains, the most challenging No Man's Land is between the ears
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you have ever tried to build and grow a small business you will understand how good this book is., September 24, 2007
This review is from: No Man's Land: What to Do When Your Company Is Too Big to Be Small but TooSmall to Be Big (Hardcover)
In this book "no man's land" is that volatile time a small business experiences during rapid growth. Basically, there are three things that can happen. The small business retreats from the kind of growth that would transform the business and remains a successful small business. This is the kind of choice made by the businesses described by Bo Burlingham as "Small Giants". The business might lose its way and end up failing because of the pressures, changes, and decisions demanded by rapid growth. The third possibility is to make the kinds of transformations necessary to become a large company. Nearly every big company went through this phase one time in their career (the exceptions being big companies that were created by combining already larger companies).
Doug Tatum has put together a terrific book to help the entrepreneur who wants to navigate through rapid growth without being torn apart in the rapids or smashed against the rocks. The book has eight chapters that are each interesting reading to any entrepreneur who wants to learn about this phase of their corporate career. The first chapter describes the problem of being "to big to be small, to small to be big".
The second chapter talks about the way pressures of growth can cause the company to become misaligned from its market. These have a variety of sources and each is dangerous to fatal. These can have a physical basis, a forgetting of what the core value is while racing to grow and grab market share, and forgetting who your customers are.
Chapters 3, 4, and 5 talk about the dangers of outgrowing your management, your model, and your money. These three topics are central to successfully making the transition. If your management cannot get out of the entrepreneurial mindset, you are doomed to stay small or fail. I worked for a growing company one time where the owner loved the detail work of the company and could not focus on what it would take to actually handle the growth he was experiencing. And he picked his managers based on how much they thought like he did and would indulge his expediting. Of course the business failed!
Another problem occurs when you outgrow your business model because it won't scale. If you hang onto the model that worked when you were small get horrible to fatal problems. If you adopt a new model that doesn't work, you get problems that are also horrible to fatal. This is one reason you need to get the right management. The third problem is outgrowing your money. More small businesses on the make die from the lack of oxygen money can provide. It seems like a growing small business should be able to get funding. But they find that banks aren't interested because of the risk and lack of collateral. Venture capitalists aren't interested because the deal is too small and the 10x payoff they are looking for isn't obvious, plus the entrepreneur is often unwilling to cede control of his baby. And you have likely used up all your friends and family angel money, your credit cards, and your retirement accounts. This is a serious problem.
Tatum then talks about the fifth "M", momentum. You need to have enough momentum or inertia to help you power through the friction of the rapid growth no man's land. If you stall and let stagnation set in, you will be lucky to be able to make it back to being a viable small company.
The author goes back to the idea of the wonderful things available to those willing to be a successful small business. Being big is not the answer for everybody. Tatum is very good in explaining this and points you to Burlingham's "Small Giants". Take this chapter seriously and consider it before you risk entering no man's land.
The last chapter sings the praises of small business and entrepreneurs. He decries the way governments shower benefits and breaks on big companies when small business drives so much employment and growth. These breaks put growing businesses in a worse competitive condition. Tatum also believes that if you are going to give help to anyone, you will get more bang for your buck helping the small business trying to navigate rapid growth.
This is a very good book.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Small business owners need and must use a sound written business plan to run their business or else end up in No Man's Land., October 6, 2007
This review is from: No Man's Land: What to Do When Your Company Is Too Big to Be Small but TooSmall to Be Big (Hardcover)
I liked this book. Apparently it is written for small business owners that are able to start their businesses without the benefit of a sound 25-35 page written business plan. As a result of their luck or hard work those owners are able to manage their businesses by the seat of their pants. But when those businesses eventually take off on a growth spurt the owners are unable to continue to manage their company by the seat of their pants. This phase in the company history the author calls No Man's Land.
The book has the following 8 chapters:
1. Too big to be small, too small to be big
2. Market misalignment
3. Outgrowing your management
4. Outgrowing your model
5. Outgrowing your money
6. The 5th M (momentum)
7. Beyond growth
8. A national treasure
The second through fifth chapters cover what the author calls the "4 Ms." To me they were the heart of the book. Basically they are common sense issues with regard to managing a business. A company to be profitable must be aligned with the market it serves. A company to stay profitable must be lead by competent management. And as times change, a company's business model typically has to change. And finally at some point the issue of money becomes relevant; it takes money to make money.
I thought the discussions for each "M" were well done. The book flowed for me. However, I would have liked it better if the book had has a chapter on the importance of business plans. I would have liked the book better if the book had had a chapter on how to use business plans and keep them current so a company never needs to experience No Man's Land. And I would have liked the book better if it had included a chapter on strategic planning.
The author says he travels the country speaking to groups of entrepreneurs and business leaders about No Man's Land. He has a consulting practice to help business owners get through no man's land. As I read the instant book I got the feeling that it was another marketing tool to complement the author's talks to help him promote his consulting practice. Although I liked the book, I think it could have been better. 4 stars!
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