Easy to set up and definitely achievable, even as a one-man band. The founder makes all the decisions and does everything themself, even when there are other employees. It’s a little ad hoc because every customer has their own specific needs. Every case can be a little different and yet it’s still super simple to keep everyone happy, right? In a business made of straw, who knows the customers most intimately? The owner.
If there are any customer complaints – symbolised in this story by a wolf threatening at the door – the owner is exposed. But the upside is that the wolf can quickly be appeased and things put right with little or no precedents set. Worst case, if the business gets blown in, it’s no big deal. With a business made of straw, the owner can dust themself down and start all over again in no time.
What happens when the business prospers and the founder can no longer do everything themself? They can decide to either stay the same size or employ somebody to share the extra load. In a business made of straw, how many employees do you think it would take before ‘the way we like things done here’ strays? How many human errors would put at risk the trust painstakingly built between owner and customer? The trouble is, until this size problem is successfully overcome, the business will find it super hard to grow sustainably. Not impossible, but the founder will spend every minute of every waking hour working in the business. So the founder needs to decide whether to stay as is or to become a business made of stick.
A quick read, deceptively brief. None of the usual formula of using several examples to support a theory. This is a story about every business which you will be thinking about long after you close the back cover.
Business books are significantly more effective* when they are read in hardcopy. With its bright yellow cover, this one will be visible on your desk or dropped on the coffee table – it will be calling you to read it and implement the wisdom within!
*Big claim, based on donkey's years of experience.
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