Book Review: The New Small by Phil Simon
If you’ve ever found yourself lamenting over the trials and tribulations of being a small business owner, you’ll think twice after reading Phil Simon’s new book, The New Small. Simon writes from the onset that “All else being equal, it’s better to be small.” And, by that he doesn’t suggest that the small business owner gets an easier ride through a rocky economy. No, instead Simon demonstrates how small businesses have options today compared to their counterparts in large organizations—to adapt to changes and move in different directions—by adopting a number of emerging technologies. If they choose, small businesses can leave behind the mentality of the old-guard company and embrace the identity of the New Small.
The New Small is equated with companies who "creatively and intelligently use technology to reach new customers, reduce costs, increase internal collaboration and communication, and create flexible work environments."
Simon discusses the ways big companies can become bogged down by the very politics and logistics of a well-meaning IT department. Instead the processes and solutions may end up becoming needless distractions that detract from the goals at hand. At times the approaches can become too costly, time intensive and inevitably can force the company to miss opportunities for growth. To make matters worse, employees can then become demoralized.
On the flip side, smaller companies who now have access to emerging technologies which were once too cost prohibitive, can adopt effective solutions which will not only get the job done well, but will free personnel up to tend to other critical tasks which will help the business grow in ways germane to improved product and service development and customer support. And, as a result, Simon shows us how these successes have the ability to empower staff, make them feel valued and good about their jobs.
Phil Simon weaves the discussion of five emerging technologies throughout the book, which he refers to as the five enablers: 1) Cloud computing,
2) Software as a service (SaaS) 3) Free and open source software (FOSS), 4) Mobility and 5) Social technologies. Simon points out that "by using these technologies, small businesses have the same or — even superior technology — compared to organizations 10 times their size, often at a fraction of the time and cost. What’s more, these businesses go from technological laggards to leaders.” And, as you learn about these classes of technologies you'll also get ideas of specific applications along the way. The reader also has the benefit of hearing about eleven small businesses from different industries who were facing specific challenges but because of an open mind to exploring new ways of doing things, they were able to adopt technologies that enhanced their internal processes and improved day to day business operations.
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