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Be the Elephant: Build a Bigger, Better Business
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Sales rank 597,147
Customers rating (based on 11 reviews)
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In business, there's no standing still. The trick is to become an elephant—big enough to make a difference, healthy enough to withstand financial currents, strong enough to influence your market—and smart enough to avoid the pitfalls of growth. With Be the Elephant, bestselling author Steve Kaplan provides the business-growing playbook for every entrepreneur, CEO, sales professional, small business owner, and manager alike. The strategy, the process, the toolbox. Written in a friendly, no-nonsense style, Be the Elephant takes the mystery and the fear out of growing bigger. It shows you how to address potential downsides, point by point, and provides a 25-question quiz to gauge your business's current health. There are lessons in strengthening sales, a business's front line. Vertical and horizontal growth. Risk versus reward. How to avoid the twin dilemmas inherent in growth—grow too slowly and wither, or grow too fast and lose control. And finally, how to chart it and start it, from developing an all-important USP—unique selling proposition—to avoiding the Five Killer Mistakes that can ruin a company. And from there, how to go forth and Be the Elephant
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| Publisher | Workman Publishing Company | | Release date | 02/2007 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Edition | Hardcover |
| | List price | $19.95 | | Our price | $19.95 | | Used price | from $0.01 |
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 The latest in the pachyderm parade of business titles
It seems that you can't swing your library card around a business bookshelf these days without hitting a tome that has "Elephant" in the title. Whether the book claims how to teach elephants to dance; how to bag the elephant; how to sell different color elephants or use fables such as the elephant and the ant - they all view elephants as an enduring business metaphor. Sometimes they work but often they don't. Steve Kaplan's latest addition to the pachyderm parade of titles Be the Elephant - DOES work. The author takes a refreshingly counterintuitive approach to the idea of "growth at all costs" and turns it on its tusks. The premise is that any business leader should grow their organization as large or small as they would like, but to survive you need to be the biggest elephant within your competitive sphere. Soundview recommends this book because it presents a new perspective on the concept of growth while balancing the extremes of growing both too quickly or slowly. Since elephants never forget, be sure to remember to read this book.
 Dissenting Opinion: Not what it advertises
After reading the other reviews, I must wholeheartedly disagree with the consensus. I own a small business and this book is just so elementary and without substance, that I could never recommend it to anyone that is already running a decent sized small business. Kaplan's use of examples is extremely limited and hardly worth the effort. While I'm sure that Kaplan is a very good businessman and knows his stuff, his ability to focus anyone into a thought provoking analysis is woefully inept.
I think that the book goes wrong in trying to be everything to all business owners. This is clearly a book for the beginner that has absolutely zero business experience. It would be a nice introduction to what can go wrong for an individual that is "thinking" of going into business for themselves. He mentions that you need to learn how to read the "numbers" of your business, but then there is absolutely zero explanation of what they mean. One could never look at a balance sheet and determine the next step for that business. Kaplan is all at the 50,000 foot level with no breakdown into any detail whatsoever.
However, this is not what the jacket or back cover portray. They give the impression that the statement (whether) "you run a $5 million consulting business or a three person bakery" then this book will help you. It will not. If you are running a $5 million business, you are so far past what this book has to offer that it is a waste of your time. I would not be so negative if the target market for the book would not have been portrayed as just about everyone with a small business.
If you are just beginning to look at maybe running a business or if you are contemplating joining someone in their business, then this book might give you something to think about on the negative side. However, if you are looking for help on next steps or trying to understand what to do help your current business, this will not help you in the least. You will not become the "elephant" by reading this book.
 Sharply written guide to helping your business grow
Steve Kaplan communicates his vast business-development experience in focused, easily understandable prose. His writing is punchy and filled with illustrative vignettes to illustrate his points in an easy, entertaining way. While you must have frontline experience to build your organization, the basics Kaplan provides are a sound, necessary complement. He explains these core principles compactly and keeps the technical aspects fairly light. This sales and business growth manual is not directed to the sophisticated strategist, but to the bullet-point level entrepreneur who wants the how-to-expand formula without a lot of if-this-then-that discussion. getAbstract can report from experience that informative reading on nurturing your business that is also this entertaining and accessible is hard to find.
Grow to be an Elephant!
This is another book, which inspired the title for my book "Elephants Can't Change but Leopards Can!!!" I love this book and it's pundits.
Adding this one to my FAVORITES list
For the life of me, I cannot understand why this book has been remaindered. It is a wonderful guide to understanding the nuts and bolts of your business or more specifically, your finances. This is the nitty gritty stuff that the other books don't cover. Maybe it's due to the fact that business owners don't want to do the work necessary to grow? I think this is a fantastic book and it's a perfect companion to The E-Myth because it offers specific steps you can take to get a handle on your numbers and grow your business. Scoop up your copy now--you won't be sorry!
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