Read This! CCV Recommendations

Small business looking to bone up on strategy can turn to these sources for great ideas.

• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technology by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
• http://myownbusiness.org/ 

As any small business owner or entrepreneur knows, leisure time is not easy to come by.  So when you do find a few free moments, consider looking at some of these books and Web sites, highly recommended by CCV staff.

 

CCV President Anita Hollins recommends Good to Great by Jim Collins.  The book is great because it looks at the business from a long-term perspective, Anita said.

 

The book address a single question: Can a good company become a great company, and if so, how? 

 

In the book, Collins also debunks common myths about change, stock options, technology and revolution.  He teaches lessons based on eggs, hedgehogs and buses.

 

Tom Cassell, director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center, suggests checking out the Web site, Myownbusiness.org, a non-profit established in 1992 to help people succeed in business.  Browse some of the sample business plans, take a quiz and go through the start-up checklist.

 

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technology by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff helps business owners who may need a little advice about creating a company blog or Facebook page.  Josh Gutstein, CCV financial analyst, calls the book “a great introduction to the power of social networking.”

 

The how-to book uses a variety of companies, such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Dell, and even a small, but very successful winery in South Africa, for case studies.