Comments on: Entrepreneurial Small Businesses Have the Tools to Survive This Recession! http://jordansalvit.com/small-business-v-the-man/2009/entrepreneurial-small-businesses-have-the-tools-to-survive-this-recession/ discussions on topics ranging from artificial intelligence, small businesses, social media, marketing, MBTI, pastries and more Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:14:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: jordan http://jordansalvit.com/small-business-v-the-man/2009/entrepreneurial-small-businesses-have-the-tools-to-survive-this-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-8 jordan Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:57:51 +0000 http://jordansalvit.com/?p=22#comment-8 @Flavio Thank you for bringing a difference perspective to the conversation. I haven't worked with a large company yet that is fostering conversation. It is refreshing to hear that all levels of management and staff are adopting it. I think you are definitely right that different companies need to approach this recession differently. Some need innovation and some to to defend and strengthen their brand. Look at Tropicana's new campaign to reconnect with their large user base by going "100% Orange". Their product is the same, just different messaging and branding. I still think innovation is what is going to get the global economy the boost it needs and that the small business is best equipped to do it. @Alice I agree decisions could have been made differently with a bottom-up structure instead. But with this reverse pyramid how many levels can the system handle before it breaks down? I am curious, in Linder's book, does she describe the optimal management structure to implement a successful entrepreneurial work environment? @Flavio

Thank you for bringing a difference perspective to the conversation. I haven’t worked with a large company yet that is fostering conversation. It is refreshing to hear that all levels of management and staff are adopting it.

I think you are definitely right that different companies need to approach this recession differently. Some need innovation and some to to defend and strengthen their brand. Look at Tropicana’s new campaign to reconnect with their large user base by going “100% Orange”. Their product is the same, just different messaging and branding.

I still think innovation is what is going to get the global economy the boost it needs and that the small business is best equipped to do it.

@Alice

I agree decisions could have been made differently with a bottom-up structure instead. But with this reverse pyramid how many levels can the system handle before it breaks down? I am curious, in Linder’s book, does she describe the optimal management structure to implement a successful entrepreneurial work environment?

]]> By: Alice http://jordansalvit.com/small-business-v-the-man/2009/entrepreneurial-small-businesses-have-the-tools-to-survive-this-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-7 Alice Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:32:40 +0000 http://jordansalvit.com/?p=22#comment-7 Your post reminded me of a book I was working on over a year ago -- Spiral Up by Jane Linder (http://www.amacombooks.org/book.cfm?isbn=9780814409176). Linder argues for making space for employees to develop their own projects and encouraging an environment that fosters ideas rather than traditional management (or micromanagement) which encourages ok to medicore results. The book's ideas are hard to describe in brief, but they have a different relevance now to than when the book came out. Initially it was how companies could encourage entrepreneurial behavior within a traditional structure (so hard to adapt), but this can be a method for companies to encourage new directions and solutions in the current crisis of 2009. Maybe decisions could have been made differently in the pyramid if they'd been made from the bottom-up than the bottom-down. More of an exchange than orders. Your post reminded me of a book I was working on over a year ago — Spiral Up by Jane Linder (http://www.amacombooks.org/book.cfm?isbn=9780814409176). Linder argues for making space for employees to develop their own projects and encouraging an environment that fosters ideas rather than traditional management (or micromanagement) which encourages ok to medicore results. The book’s ideas are hard to describe in brief, but they have a different relevance now to than when the book came out. Initially it was how companies could encourage entrepreneurial behavior within a traditional structure (so hard to adapt), but this can be a method for companies to encourage new directions and solutions in the current crisis of 2009. Maybe decisions could have been made differently in the pyramid if they’d been made from the bottom-up than the bottom-down. More of an exchange than orders.

]]> By: Flavio http://jordansalvit.com/small-business-v-the-man/2009/entrepreneurial-small-businesses-have-the-tools-to-survive-this-recession/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Flavio Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:20:56 +0000 http://jordansalvit.com/?p=22#comment-5 I am not sure if size is key in describing communications and their flexibility to face change. Just to mention one example, I work at a big company that promotes communication fairly well (instant messenger, blogs, even its own "wikipedia"). However, I do agree that the bigger the business, the more challenging it is to foster innovation. At this point I am still uncertain on whether you need the ability to act fast (that one would expect in a successful small business) or the strength and background of a bigger company that should be prepared to survive (or has already survived) hostile environments. It all depends on the industry too: some are dominated by big industries and some aren't. In both cases, the good qualities of big or small companies have proven to outweigh those of the other. So I believe it all leads back to innovation. If we're talking about, let's say, gourmet restaurants, where one expects smaller businesses to be the norm, flexibility and customer focus are a must. On the other hand, financial strength, reliability and efficiency in costs are non-negotiables in an industry like Energy. When the market shrinks, it is likely to expel the weakest competitors. It is the company's (and ultimately its people's) duty to make the difference. I am not sure if size is key in describing communications and their flexibility to face change. Just to mention one example, I work at a big company that promotes communication fairly well (instant messenger, blogs, even its own “wikipedia”). However, I do agree that the bigger the business, the more challenging it is to foster innovation.
At this point I am still uncertain on whether you need the ability to act fast (that one would expect in a successful small business) or the strength and background of a bigger company that should be prepared to survive (or has already survived) hostile environments. It all depends on the industry too: some are dominated by big industries and some aren’t. In both cases, the good qualities of big or small companies have proven to outweigh those of the other.
So I believe it all leads back to innovation. If we’re talking about, let’s say, gourmet restaurants, where one expects smaller businesses to be the norm, flexibility and customer focus are a must. On the other hand, financial strength, reliability and efficiency in costs are non-negotiables in an industry like Energy. When the market shrinks, it is likely to expel the weakest competitors. It is the company’s (and ultimately its people’s) duty to make the difference.

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