Simply put, most entrepreneurial start-ups fail. Those fortunate enough to succeed then face a second, major challenge: how to grow. This book focuses on the key questions an entrepreneur must answer in order to grow a business. Based on extensive research of more than fifty successful growth companies, Grow to Greatness discusses the top ten growth challenges and how to overcome them. Author Edward D. Hess dispels the myth that businesses must grow or die. Growth can create value. But, too much growth too fast outstrips effective processes, controls, or management capacity. Viewing growth as "recurring change," Grow to Greatness lays out a framework for how to approach business development—and how to manage its risks and pace. The book then takes readers through chapters that explore whether the time is right to grow, how to do it, and how to manage the vital reality that growth requires the right leadership, culture, and people. Uniquely, this book aims to prepare readers for the day-to-day reality of growth, offering up the lived experiences of eleven entrepreneurs. Six workshops to assess where readers stand now and a suite of templates that will prove to be useful over time help bring the book's teachings to life. After reading this book, entrepreneurs will have a real understanding of their readiness to grow and place in the growth cycle, as well as a concrete action plan for where to take their businesses next. Many books address how to start a business, but this is a unique, go-to resource for readers who want to learn how to thrive beyond the start-up phase.

Wall Street believes that all public companies should grow smoothly and continuously, as evidenced by ever-increasing quarterly earnings, and that all companies either "grow or die." Introducing a research-based growth model called "Smart Growth," Edward D. Hess challenges this ethos and its dangerous mentality, which often deters real growth and pressures businesses to create, manufacture, and purchase noncore earnings just to appease Wall Street. Smart Growth accounts for the complexity of growth from the perspective of organization, process, change, leadership, cognition, risk management, employee engagement, and human dynamics. Authentic growth is much more than a strategy or a desired result. It is a process characterized by complex change, entrepreneurial action, experimental learning, and the management of risk. Hess draws on extensive public and private company research, incorporating case studies of Best Buy, Sysco, UPS, Costco, Starbucks, McDonalds, Coca Cola, Room & Board, Home Depot, Tiffany & Company, P&G, and Jet Blue. With conceptual innovations such as an Authentic Earnings and Growth System framework, a seven-step growth funnel pipeline, a Growth Decision Template, and a Growth Risks Audit, Hess provides a blueprint for an enduring business that strives to be better, rather than simply bigger.

A Wall Street Journal bestseller Named one of 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 by Thinkers50 Creating a culture of learning and growth. Growth is the goal. Helping people develop their potential—enabling them to articulate and become the self they want to be, are capable of being, and that best serves them and others in the short and long term—is what we as individuals and leaders strive toward. But how do we grow? It turns out it happens in a predictable way, which means we can understand where we are in our growth and chart a way forward. In this compact, complete guide, Whitney Johnson dives more deeply than ever into the S Curve of Learning so that you can envision how growth happens and direct yourself and others in your organization to create a culture that fosters it. The growth and learning journey comes in three phases: the Launch Point, the Sweet Spot, and Mastery. Compelling examples of successful people will show you when and why growth is slow, how to keep going, what to do when growth and learning are almost too fast to keep up with, and how to leap from one growth journey to another. As individuals grow, so do organizations and societies. Growth is learning put into action—action that betters the world as we better ourselves and our small niches, both personal and professional, within it. Growth occurs when learning is internalized—when we try something new and invest the effort to move it from being something we do to something we are.

This book examines smart growth entrepreneurs—innovators in government, development companies, architectural firms, and other organizations, who coalesce to shift policies and markets toward green planning and building practices. Cities across the world are trying to manage their population and economic growth by implementing the design principles of Smart Growth and New Urbanism, developing green buildings that are compact, mixed-use, and in close proximity to transit services. How do innovators, governments, and markets interact in this planning and development process? The book profiles smart growth entrepreneurs and their projects in both Southern California and the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. The author highlights the unique obstacles, political and economic, that these actors encounter and details the centrality of markets and regulations in sustainable urban development.

Wall Street believes that all public companies should grow smoothly and continuously, as evidenced by ever-increasing quarterly earnings, and that all companies either "grow or die." Introducing a research-based growth model called "Smart Growth," Edward D. Hess challenges this ethos and its dangerous mentality, which often deters real growth and pressures businesses to create, manufacture, and purchase noncore earnings just to appease Wall Street. Smart Growth accounts for the complexity of growth from the perspective of organization, process, change, leadership, cognition, risk management, employee engagement, and human dynamics. Authentic growth is much more than a strategy or a desired result. It is a process characterized by complex change, entrepreneurial action, experimental learning, and the management of risk. Hess draws on extensive public and private company research, incorporating case studies of Best Buy, Sysco, UPS, Costco, Starbucks, McDonalds, Coca Cola, Room & Board, Home Depot, Tiffany & Company, P&G, and Jet Blue. With conceptual innovations such as an Authentic Earnings and Growth System framework, a seven-step growth funnel pipeline, a Growth Decision Template, and a Growth Risks Audit, Hess provides a blueprint for an enduring business that strives to be better, rather than simply bigger.

Looking for a low-risk, low-capital path to astounding growth?Experienced franchisor Shelly Sun shares practical advice and her own compelling experiences to help you discover the power and avoid the pitfalls of franchising your business.In today's economic environment, access to capital is limited, and that isn't likely to change. Successful business owners have few options for dramatically expanding their brand. Grow Smart, Risk Less describes how you can use other people's money and can leverage your success for fast, profitable growth.Unlike many authors of books on franchising, Shelly Sun has been through the process, growing her business from $1 million to $100 million in five years in system-wide sales. In Grow Smart, Risk Less she describes the process she went through-equal parts brutally grueling and enormously rewarding-to make it happen. She will educate you on every stage of the franchising process, preparing you to make savvy business decisions that are right for your company now. You will learn how to Determine if you have a concept worthy of franchising and how to adjust your concept if you don't Assemble a professional team without wasting money Adjust your business model along the way for optimum growth Grow as a leader to assume the new challenges of leading a larger, more diverse organizationIf you're ready for the next stage of business development, read Grow Smart, Risk Less and set yourself on the path to amazing growth.

There has been increased emphasis on smart cities due to the economic, environmental and technological shifts that have impacted on society. This book focuses on how cities are becoming smarter, more innovative and entrepreneurial due to the increased pressures placed on them from societal changes in the global business environment. The book defines a smart city as an urban or rural development that integrates technology to enhance a city’s assets, which may include community services, parkland, education, transportation and energy sources. The book aims to examine the role that innovation has in creating smart cities by focusing on issues such as public transport, use of energy efficiency and sustainability practices. It helps to shed understanding on how cities have become smarter in the way they handle increased migration to urban and rural areas and decrease the strain on public finances.