It’s an axiom of business that great companies grow their revenues and profits year after year. Yet quietly, under the radar, a small number of companies have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on more satisfying business goals. Goals like being great at what they do . . . creating a great place to work . . . providing great customer service . . . making great contributions to their communities . . . and finding great ways to lead their lives.

In Small Giants, veteran journalist Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside fourteen remarkable companies that have chosen to march to their own drummer. They include Anchor Brewing, the original microbrewer; CitiStorage Inc., the premier independent records-storage business; Clif Bar & Co., maker of organic energy bars and other nutrition foods; Righteous Babe Records, the record company founded by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco; Union Square Hospitality Group, the company of restaurateur Danny Meyer; and Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, including the world-famous Zingerman’s Deli of Ann Arbor.

Burlingham shows how the leaders of these small giants recognized the full range of choices they had about the type of company they could create. And he shows how we can all benefit by questioning the usual definitions of business success. In his new afterward, Burlingham reflects on the similarities and learning lessons from the small giants he covers in the book.

Small Giants is a finalist for the Financial Times / Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award...

How maverick companies have passed up revenue growth—and focused on greatness instead

Most books about successful businesses focus on public companies, where the definition for success is steady growth in revenue and profits. Yet there are many excellent, privately held companies marching to the beat of a different drum; they have stricken revenue and profit growth from the top of their mission statements. Instead, they define themselves by their passion for their products and their commitment to their employees, customers, and community—embracing a clarity and loyalty to purpose that’s an anomaly in today’s environment.

Small Giants is a fascinating book about the unconventional people who run these purpose-driven companies. Longtime Inc. magazine editor Bo Burlingham takes us deep inside these companies to determine the secret ingredient, the elusive "mojo" that makes them great.

He profiles fourteen of the best, including Anchor Brewing, CitiStorage, Clif Bar Inc., Righteous Babe Records, Reel Precision Manufacturing, and Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. These companies are consistently profitable yet have consciously resisted convention by staying small and great instead of becoming large and mediocre.

For anyone who wants to explore America’s most innovative and inspiring small business successes, this unique book is the place to start....