Robert Sher - Mighty Midsized Companies: How Leaders Overcome 7 Silent Growth Killers

First published by Bibliomotion, Inc.

39 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02445

Tel: 617-934-2427

www.bibliomotion.com

Copyright 2014 by Robert Sher

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sher, Robert, 1961

Mighty midsized companies : how leaders overcome 7 silent growth killers / Robert Sher.

pages cm

Summary: Drawing upon his own experience and interviews with more than 100 companies, author Robert Sher runs through seven silent growth killers that plague midsized companies and which, if not addressed, eventually cripple growth. Mighty Midsized Companies offers clear, tangible, actionable advice about dealing with these killers and growing despite them Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-62956-006-9 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-62956-007-6 (ebook) ISBN 978-1-62956-008-3 (enhanced ebook)

1. Small businessManagement. 2. Small businessGrowth. 3. Leadership. I. Title.

HD62.7.S52575 2014

658.4'06dc23

2014013350

Consultant Sher, formerly the longtime CEO of a midsized company, worries about the state of the American midsized firms. As the founder of CEO to CEO, Inc., he works with business leaders to help medium-sized companies grow and expand. This primer is aimed at the leaders of midsized companies, which make up a significant portion of the American economy; there are nearly 200,000 companies with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion, some privately or family-held, and some publicly funded. Problems specific to midsized companies are not always visible or widely discussed in M.B.A. courses or the media, he argues. These companies struggle with low tolerance for risk, few ways to develop talent, less strategic thinking, and less seasoned talent. The titular seven silent killers are letting time slip-slide away; strategy tinkering at the top; reckless attempts at growth; fumbled strategic acquisitions; operational meltdown; the liquidity crash; and tolerating dysfunctional leaders. Using numerous case studies and presenting thorough plans for overcoming each of the silent killers, Sher writes passionately about the ways in which leaders can become aware of these challenges and rally their management teams. This is a quiet but hard-hitting game plan.

Publishers Weekly

Robert Sher has written a very important book in these times of economic uncertainty, and every executive team member of a midsized company should read it. Mighty Midsized Companies will help them do the right thing, which is what Ive long said is what truly distinguishes leaders from managers.

Warren Bennis, author and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California

Through interviews with CEOs as well as real-life case studies, author Robert Sher shows readers how to keep a midsized company healthy and avoid the seven dangerous mistakes that kill growth. Mighty Midsized Companies is a must-read guide to ensure your organization remains strong and viable.

Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and Legendary Service

Robert Sher offers powerful insights into how to address the critical issues that can derail growth in midsized companies.

Douglas Conant, former CEO, Campbell Soup Company, and the New York Times best-selling author of TouchPoints

At a time when midsized organizations desperately struggle to keep pace in a global economy, Robert Sher provides real-world insight into the pitfalls that prevent growth. Mighty Midsized Companies superbly identifies the seven silent killers that routinely throw a wrench into a companys development and provides excellent solutions for fostering success. A terrific read.

Stephen M. R. Covey, author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller The Speed of Trust and coauthor of Smart Trust

What a valuable book! Rob Sher understands the unique opportunitiesand temptationsthat middle market companies meet on their road to growth. Mighty Midsized Companies is a useful guide and wise companion for the journey.

Thomas A. Stewart, executive director, National Center for the Middle Market

This is it, the next frontier in management thinkingto understand the unique challenges that face leaders of midsized companies. And not a moment too soon. These companies have been bailing out the U.S. economy for more than a decade now, while the rest of the economy is stalled when it comes to the level of job creation we need to keep the economy healthy and robust. Robert Shers insightful and useful book could only have been created by someone whos been immersed in this world as practitioner and thought leader. Lets hope that this book is the first of many to shine the spotlight of public attention on this high-performing sector and its leaders.

George Gendron, long-time editor-in-chief of Inc. Magazine and founder of The Build Network for midsized companies, a co-venture of Inc. Magazine and Fast Company

To the leaders of midsized businesses everywhere, who despite all the challenges, get up every day and strive to build mighty midsized companies.

by Jim Horan

Author of The One Page Business Plan

Nearly twenty years ago, when I began writing my first book on how to create one-page business plans, I had an inkling the book might do very welleven if I couldnt get a publishing house behind it. In 1994, four years after I had left the big-company world, I gave five public presentations on my ideathat the best business plans were short yet cogent. The following year, I was asked to do fifteen speeches, and my audiences began asking for the book version of the idea. In my mind, some of the asking bordered on demanding.

So when my self-published book hit the market in 1997, I was delighted to see it flying off the virtual book shelves of Amazon.com. It became an Amazon bestseller and spawned five related books, which collectively have sold nearly 100,000 copies and been translated into four languages.

But, again, I wasnt totally surprised, having sensed my conference audiences burning interest in the concept well before my first book came out. I had a strong hunch it would do well.

I have the same feeling about Mighty Midsized Companies, and heres why. Robert Sher is the preeminent thought leader on midsized businesses. I have known and observed Robert as a business owner, facilitator of a networking group for CEOs, public speaker, and private confidant to my firm. He understands the midsized company because he has lived it. He sees through the noise that distracts us all and goes straight to the underlying causes. His ability to do this is uncanny!

One of the many things I love about this book is that Robert eloquently articulates what goes unarticulated, and therefore unaddressed, in the hundreds of midsized firms I have come to know. As an example of this rare skill to memorably explain the previously inexplicable, Robert gives simple but provocative names to the issues that kill the growth of these firms. When he talks about letting time slip slide away, tinkering with strategy, reckless attempts at growth, fumbled strategic acquisitions, operational meltdowns, liquidity crashes and tolerating dysfunctional leaders, Robert is speaking to you and me!

A tremendous amount of research went into this book. Robert weaves in numerous case studies that illustrate the power and danger of these silent killers. He describes how these killers fester and grow, and how CEOs and their teams successfully and unsuccessfully have dealt with them. Robert also gives very clear, actionable advice for keeping these silent killers at bay.