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No Man's Land: What to Do When Your Company Is Too Big to Be Small but TooSmall to Be Big
“I travel the country speaking about No Man’s Land to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Wherever I go, I get the same response. Listeners approach me with sadness in their eyes and say, ‘Doug, if only I had known about No Man’s Land when I was running my company, we might still be in business.’”—Doug Tatum
If starting a company is difficult, leading a company once the business has caught fire is infinitely more so. Thousands each year approach the dangerous transition that Doug Tatum calls No Man’s Land—when they are too big to be considered small but still too small to be considered big.
Rapid growth is every entrepreneur’s dream, but it never comes easily and is usually rife with dilemmas. During No Man’s Land, as in human adolescence, such growth should spark self- discovery, acquired discipline, and positive but difficult transition. Unfortunately, it often becomes an agonizing battle between the natural tendencies of a lonely entrepreneur and certain immutable laws of growth. The result is confusion, frustration, stagnation, loss of employee morale, and, at worst, financial failure.
Sounds pretty bleak. The good news is that Doug Tatum knows exactly what it takes to get through No Man’s Land: a map, a high place from which to orient yourself, and navigational rules to help you track your progress. And these tools are here in this book.
Through case studies and stories of successes and failures, No Man’s Land will help you learn how to:
* Align your growing company with its market.
* Execute the necessary changes in your management.
* Confirm that your financial model is scalable.
* Attract money and make smart decisions about financing your business.
If you’re an entrepreneur, this book will help you make your company all it can be and all you want it to be. It will prepare you for a ride that just might be wilder than you ever imagined.
If starting a company is difficult, leading a company once the business has caught fire is infinitely more so. Thousands each year approach the dangerous transition that Doug Tatum calls No Man’s Land—when they are too big to be considered small but still too small to be considered big.
Rapid growth is every entrepreneur’s dream, but it never comes easily and is usually rife with dilemmas. During No Man’s Land, as in human adolescence, such growth should spark self- discovery, acquired discipline, and positive but difficult transition. Unfortunately, it often becomes an agonizing battle between the natural tendencies of a lonely entrepreneur and certain immutable laws of growth. The result is confusion, frustration, stagnation, loss of employee morale, and, at worst, financial failure.
Sounds pretty bleak. The good news is that Doug Tatum knows exactly what it takes to get through No Man’s Land: a map, a high place from which to orient yourself, and navigational rules to help you track your progress. And these tools are here in this book.
Through case studies and stories of successes and failures, No Man’s Land will help you learn how to:
* Align your growing company with its market.
* Execute the necessary changes in your management.
* Confirm that your financial model is scalable.
* Attract money and make smart decisions about financing your business.
If you’re an entrepreneur, this book will help you make your company all it can be and all you want it to be. It will prepare you for a ride that just might be wilder than you ever imagined.
- GenresBusiness
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2007
4 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 30, 2011
Like so many non-fiction advice books, their true value is only seen when you have experience with the problem. This book is very good for the small company looking at how they will get to large, or deciding if they even want to. Very good book for anyone trying to make the transition from one man show to a professional, effective organization. A book for owners, it helps you think clearly about your problems and what the potential solutions are.
The recomendations of hiring at the top, hiring people with experience and that complement your strenghts are key concepts that we are putting into practice right now. The middle growth time is not a place to try and "grow" your own internal talent.
Great appendix on private equity.
The recomendations of hiring at the top, hiring people with experience and that complement your strenghts are key concepts that we are putting into practice right now. The middle growth time is not a place to try and "grow" your own internal talent.
Great appendix on private equity.
August 17, 2023
A mix of republican tax ideas and business platitudes. Tatum has convinced himself of a class business between big and small that totally does exist but I find his pleas that they are the lifeblood of the economy and are treated unfairly to be annoying.
His advice for businesses of this size is brief and generic.
His advice for businesses of this size is brief and generic.
January 3, 2011
This was a quick, interesting read about the struggle getting from small to big for growing businesses. It describes some common pitfalls and reads somewhat like a self-help book for morally defeated entrepreneurs – “You’re not alone; other entrepreneurs experience the same thing. Hang on, you’ll get there!” etc… Nothing super insightful but worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews