Duck and Recover: The Embattled Business Owner's Guide to Survival and Growth

Timing is everything and Steven's new book, DUCK AND RECOVER could not have been published at a better time. Yes, we are in a recession and Steven tells us how to continue to grow our businesses even in this cash strapped time period of history. Each chapter is a thoughtful masterpiece that will get the reader thinking about new strategies as well as reviewing what they are doing with their business. This book could be one of the best investments you ever make.

In this volume, Steven S. Little provides what is described as "the embattled business owner's guide to survival and growth." In fact, his insights and suggestions can be of substantial assistance to anyone who has a number of business concerns. The title refers to a situation in business that is analogous to one in sports when, for example, baseball players on defense crouch while awaiting a batter's response to the next pitch or when linemen on defense in football await the next snap of the ball: "It puts them in the best position to release a focused, explosive movement when the time is right." Think of a company that is fully prepared to respond quickly and effectively to a threat (e.g. a competitor's advertising campaign promoting a price discount) or to an opportunity (e.g. to enter a market the competition has vacated). In The Art of War, Sun Tzu suggests that every battle is won or lost before it is fought. Hence the importance of preparation. "You should put your organization in a similar position right now in order to focus your potential energy. And effective duck now will enable you to focus your potential energy." In which areas do organizations tend to be most vulnerable? Little identifies four. 1. Not focusing on root causes: "Don't allow symptoms to distract you from treating the real trauma." Symptoms can usually be grouped and usually reveal a pattern that indicates causality. They do not occur in isolation. They are not self-generating. 2. Not prioritizing areas that need your attention: "Whatever your bent, that area of expertise and comfort in your business is probably pretty well covered. Too often, it is the area you haven't paid attention to that needs your attention now." More often than not, prioritizing involves identifying a sequence of action steps. For example: turn off the water, repair the broken pipe, and then clean up the mess. 3. Not putting new and recent problems in proper perspective: "Whatever the crisis du jur is, be sure that you are able to frame it properly. Is it really the most important thing for you to address today, or is it simply the most unsettling issue you've dealt with recently?" Urgency, not familiarity or novelty, should determine area or problem on which to focus. 4. Not knowing how to apply tourniquets: "You should know that in business, as in first aid, the decision to apply a tourniquet could cause you to lose that arm of your business forever...In which areas of your business do you have the experience and the expertise to apply tourniquets? As you look for ways in which to stop the bleeding, remember that crudely applied devices can produce unintended and deleterious consequences." At one point in his narrative, Little cites an old saying "that is both conventional wisdom and common sense: `Revenue is vanity, margin is sanity, but cash is king'...Margins matter, but more often than not, the cash created by a better bottom-line matters more. With these principles in mind, you sh