Book Review - Energize Growth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company by Lisa Nirell
Category Book Review Lisa Nirell Energize Growth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company
I had the distinct pleasure of receiving an advance copy of Lisa Nirell's new book Energize Growth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company. I've read a number of business books on how to "energize" growth and build your company, but all too often they read like a theoretical, academic methodology that would take a rocket scientist to follow and implement. Nirell avoids that problem with simple, down-to-earth steps that, if followed, will definitely place you on the right track for moving your business to the next level. It'll also position you well to be able to exit your company properly with a sale or acquisition in the future. Regardless of how you view your end-game, you'll be much better off for having read and followed Nirell's advice.
Contents:
Running on Empty; Brains, Beliefs, and Growth Blunders; Say No to the Good, and Yes to the Great; Increase Your Wealth Quotient; The Path to Planning; The Inside Job; What's on Your Dashboard; Design Your Dashboard; Plan Your Brand; More Revenues, Fewer Clients; Future Energy Sources - How to Grow Your Wealth Quotient with Social Media; Appendix A - Sample EnergizeGrowth Plan; Appendix B - Sample ProfitCents Report; References; About the Author; Index
There were so many ideas in Nirell's writing that stood out in her approach. One of the biggest was the imperative to "write down your plan." She recounts many situations where business owners had various "good ideas" about where they wanted to go, but were stagnating in the process of getting there. The simple words "show me your written business plan" was all it took in many cases to uncover the fact that the owner had no concrete ways to get to where they needed to be. Once that task was tackled, often the growth started immediately, as the person had a plan to follow and track. Seems very simple and intuitive, but all too often is left undone.
Another common pitfall for the small business owner is the idea of delegation. Generally, the owner is the commodity being sold, be it a consultant or a professional position. Time spent doing non-value-added tasks takes away from time that could be spent billing clients and growing the business. You may *like* to do the billings or the books yourself, but you could hire someone to do it for less than you'd bill. Therefore, saying "no to the good, and yes to the great" can offer up an instant spike in your time and energy that can be devoted to growing your business. This concept also applies to figuring out what your business offers that is better than anything else out there... your "hedgehog." Once you know where your most profitable parts of the business lie, then you can start trimming out the parts that don't contribute to your growth.
Obviously, there are many more parts of Nirell's plan, and I could go on about it for a long time. But suffice it to say that her advice is practical and personal, and has been validated with many of her clients over the years. This is a book that will stay on my business shelf for personal reference. Should I ever find myself truly running my own business, I plan on getting things started on the right foot with Energize Growth NOW.
I had the distinct pleasure of receiving an advance copy of Lisa Nirell's new book Energize Growth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company. I've read a number of business books on how to "energize" growth and build your company, but all too often they read like a theoretical, academic methodology that would take a rocket scientist to follow and implement. Nirell avoids that problem with simple, down-to-earth steps that, if followed, will definitely place you on the right track for moving your business to the next level. It'll also position you well to be able to exit your company properly with a sale or acquisition in the future. Regardless of how you view your end-game, you'll be much better off for having read and followed Nirell's advice.
Contents:
Running on Empty; Brains, Beliefs, and Growth Blunders; Say No to the Good, and Yes to the Great; Increase Your Wealth Quotient; The Path to Planning; The Inside Job; What's on Your Dashboard; Design Your Dashboard; Plan Your Brand; More Revenues, Fewer Clients; Future Energy Sources - How to Grow Your Wealth Quotient with Social Media; Appendix A - Sample EnergizeGrowth Plan; Appendix B - Sample ProfitCents Report; References; About the Author; Index
There were so many ideas in Nirell's writing that stood out in her approach. One of the biggest was the imperative to "write down your plan." She recounts many situations where business owners had various "good ideas" about where they wanted to go, but were stagnating in the process of getting there. The simple words "show me your written business plan" was all it took in many cases to uncover the fact that the owner had no concrete ways to get to where they needed to be. Once that task was tackled, often the growth started immediately, as the person had a plan to follow and track. Seems very simple and intuitive, but all too often is left undone.
Another common pitfall for the small business owner is the idea of delegation. Generally, the owner is the commodity being sold, be it a consultant or a professional position. Time spent doing non-value-added tasks takes away from time that could be spent billing clients and growing the business. You may *like* to do the billings or the books yourself, but you could hire someone to do it for less than you'd bill. Therefore, saying "no to the good, and yes to the great" can offer up an instant spike in your time and energy that can be devoted to growing your business. This concept also applies to figuring out what your business offers that is better than anything else out there... your "hedgehog." Once you know where your most profitable parts of the business lie, then you can start trimming out the parts that don't contribute to your growth.
Obviously, there are many more parts of Nirell's plan, and I could go on about it for a long time. But suffice it to say that her advice is practical and personal, and has been validated with many of her clients over the years. This is a book that will stay on my business shelf for personal reference. Should I ever find myself truly running my own business, I plan on getting things started on the right foot with Energize Growth NOW.
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