Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Another Worthwhile Growth Data Point July 22, 2008
There are far too few books on growing (as opposed to starting) a business. And this book is a slow read. Like another reviewer mentioned, it is somewhat repetitive, maybe a little disorganized. Business people like to read and apply quickly. But the book provokes the business thought process which is always good.
The gist is that businesses are all interlocking. Your business receives and gives value. So far, so good. However, the reason that many businesses choose to do many things in-house is because there's a major trade-off: risk for profit.
Ex. We're a small B2B, communicating mostly online. We outsourced our phones to an answering service. It was a disaster. Dropped calls, long wait times, rudeness, garbled messages, rising prices, etc. And this was an agency approved by the related association.
Maybe a larger organization has enough resources(people, money, attorneys, etc.) to control an outsourced relationship. But this approach isn't for all businesses. And the book doesn't really address how to manage an outsourced relationships. Maybe that's the sequel.
Small businesses might get more value out of the sections that refer to providing value to others.
 Let Go to Grow February 8, 2007
The author focuses on the difficulty that groups have accepting change. Her premise that letting go of old ways is a requirement for accepting new ways is spot on. I particularly appreciated that practical solutions that were outlined for dealing with recalcitrance of stakeholders. I found the book easy to read with little jargon and the writing style was light.
 Some interesting ideas, but too repetitive July 16, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book contains certainly some interesting ideas, provides nice examples of business that are transforming and offers some interesting facts (like the fact that employment in Chinese manufacturing is declining more rapidly than in the US!)
However the book (luckily only 200 pages) keeps on repeating itself from the beginning to the end of the book. The authors keep on explaining and repeating the same ideas in almost every chapter. The same examples (UPS, IBM, GE, e-Bay, P&G, Fedex, Amazon, Li & Fung) are used and reused in almost every chapter.
An outstanding book for leaders March 10, 2006
This business book shows the reader how to look at their business issues and gain an advantage over their competitors by embracing IBM's On Demand strategy. It encapsulates some of IBM's best thinking on how companies can position themselves for growth in today's highly competitive marketplace.
Let Go To Grow, A Timely Handbook March 3, 2006
My business was at a crossroads and this was very timely. I used it for strategic planning purposes and have actually begun to retool my business with the insights it provided. A definite read for anyone in a commodity business. All my folks thought it was one of the best reads of late.
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