Synopsis
The vast majority of small businesses stay small—and not by choice.
Only the most savvy and persistent—a tiny one tenth of one
percent—break through to annual sales above $250 million. In The Breakthrough Company,
Keith McFarland pinpoints how everyday companies become extraordinary,
showing that luck is a negligible factor. Rather, breakthrough success
turns out to be associated with a clearly identifiable set of
strategies and skills that anyone in any business can emulate—from
small startup to industry leader.
Encouraged by experts such as
business legend Peter Drucker and Good to Great author Jim Collins to
identify the drivers that enable a company to push past the
entrepreneurial phase, McFarland spent five years building and
analyzing the world’s largest growth-company performance database and
interviewing more than 1,500 growth-company executives on four
continents. His goal was simple: to identify the secrets of
breakthrough.
The Breakthrough Company is the result.
Winnowing a study pool of more than 7,000 companies down to nine that
have made the transition to major-player status, McFarland highlights
real-world tools and myth-busting insights that can be used by anyone
wanting his or her business to join this exclusive circle. Among the
book’s takeaways:
• Common wisdom holds that the founders and
core entrepreneurial leaders of a company must step aside for the
business to reach the next level. Not true—as long as founders “crown
the company” instead of themselves.
• It’s not reckless to make
ever-escalating bets on your company’s future, even going nose to nose
with competitors many times your size. In fact, it turns out that the
only safety comes in constantly upping the ante in exactly this way.
•
A Business Bermuda Triangle does exist, gobbling up companies on the
verge of breakthrough. Presented here are three ways to navigate this
potentially deadly hazard successfully.
• However good you are—or
think you are—you can’t do it alone. Learn how to surround your company
with networks of outside resources, aka “scaffolding,” and how to
enlist the aid of “insultants”—people who are willing to question a
firm’s existing assumptions and ways of doing business.
With
powerful and specific action steps concluding each chapter—and
invaluable advice on virtually every page from business leaders who’ve
taken their companies to extraordinary levels of growth and
profitability—The Breakthrough Company is one of the most provocative, inspiring, and instructive business books you’ll ever read.
Editorial Reviews
"Keith McFarland is about to be added to the list of the top business
thinkers--Tom Peters, Jim Collins, Ken Blanchard and Stephen Covey. If
you buy only one business book in 2008, this one should be it."
—Harvey Mackay, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive
"Greatly
needed! Features marvelous analysis of the principles that enable
entrepreneurial enterprises to survive and thrive. It will inspire
those in charge to become true leaders by rejecting 'small' goals
rooted in ego and embracing visionary values that impart moral
authority up and down the organizational ladder. I urge you to read
this book: it's impressively researched, beautifully illustrated, and
clearly written."
—Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
“McFarland
successfully tackles the ever-present question for ambitious
entrepreneurs: just how do you go from small to big–and prosper? This
book has the makings of a classic.”
—Steve Forbes, President & CEO, Editor-in-Chief, Forbes
“THE
BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY is a book that refreshingly and persuasively backs
up -- with a wealth of hard evidence -- its contrarian claims regarding
how to elevate a growing business to undreamt of levels…Think GOOD TO
GREAT for those still small enough to think big.”
—Bob Eckert, Chairman & CEO, Mattel, Inc
"Disdainful
of too-easily-accepted 'common wisdom,' zealous at getting to the real
facts of what makes some companies stall out and others thrive, Keith
McFarland's THE BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY offers a goldmine of insight to
anyone who's ever dreamed that the business they lead can become a
'player.'"
—The Honorable Jack Kemp, Former Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development, Former Vice-Presidential Candidate, Former US
Congressman.
"A seriously great book…Drawing from an unusually
detailed and careful study of both excellent and average performers,
McFarland offers a set of powerful insights into building a
breakthrough organization. Managers and employees alike will find his
conclusions at once provocative and useful, since they focus on the
ways that ordinary people combine to do extraordinary things.”
—William
Barnett, Thomas M. Siebel Professor in Business, Leadership, Strategy
& Organizations, Graduate Business School, Stanford University
“The Breakthrough Company
rocks! Start this book and you’ll find yourself looking forward to
evenings, weekends and plane flights so you can read more! More than
even the iconic books in this category, this look at the key issues for
growing companies provides a deep dive in terms of substance and
real-world examples. The margins of my own copy are quite literally
covered with notes on ideas inspired by what McFarland has to say.”
—Brad Duea, President, Napster
“This book is unique. Every paragraph has tucked within it one jewel of insight—- and sometimes more. Fair warning to anyone who immerses himself in this analysis: you’ll find yourself underlining every page!”
—Bob Galvin, formerly, CEO Motorola
“THE
BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY is in-your-gut persuasive. The best books, like
this one, change your mind about something important–and with each
rereading prove freshly inspirational. McFarland's insightful
drill-down doesn't just answer the questions that keep growth-company
leaders up at night, it’s an invaluable compass pointing the way to
best-in-class performance."
—Bob Geiman, Partner, Polaris Venture Partners
“In
THE BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY Keith McFarland gives us the clever metaphor
of the Business Bermuda Triangle. The book provides insightful
observations and advice that will help guide a business leader through
pivotal times of a company’s growth. McFarland’s focus on the realities
of managing costs, listening to customers and responding with agility
to external factors makes this book a compelling “how to” on thriving
in today's business world.”
—Shantanu Narayen, President and COO, Adobe Systems
“I
loved THE BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY…it’s a cornerstone business book and a
must read for any senior executive. McFarland, backed by considerable
research, describes the characteristics that allow a small to medium
size company to grow into a breathrough company --one that’s
significant, lasting and influences the market.”
—Caroline Little, CEO & Publisher, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI)
“Most
business books really should really be articles–THE BREAKTHROUGH
COMPANY is different. As a CEO of a company approaching a billion in
revenues, I can tell you that his book passes the ‘Monday Morning
Test’–you’ll finish it with a list of things you’ll do differently on
Monday morning. I only wish Keith had published the book years ago!”
—Scott Olivet, CEO, Oakley Inc.
"In
an increasingly entrepreneurial economy, fast-growing, innovative firms
will be absolutely central to future economic success. With keen
insight and extensive analysis, McFarland helps to fill a gap in our
—Carl J. Schramm, President and CEO, Kauffman Foundation, and author of The International Imperative
About the Authors
At the age of twenty-six, KEITH R. McFARLAND was named associate dean
of one of the nation’s leading business schools. He went on to serve as
CEO of two top technology firms prior to establishing McFarland
Strategy Partners, where he has advised hundreds of growth companies as
well as industry leaders such as Microsoft, Motorola, and Morgan
Stanley. Currently, McFarland is a columnist for BusinessWeek.
He and and his family live just downhill from the ski lifts at
Snowbird, Utah. For more information about Keith and this book go to
breakthroughcompany.com.
Product Details
Hardcover: 271 pages
Carton Size: 12 books
Publisher: Crown Business (January 15, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307352188
ISBN-13: 978-0307352187
Product Dimensions: 9.55 x 6.4 x 1.23 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.33 pounds
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An exceptional and crisp business book 
