This week on Curious Leadership, Dominic Monkhouse speaks with Bo Burlingham about business value, purpose, and long-term success. Bo shares insights from Finish Big and Small Giants, exploring resilient business models, protecting margins, and adapting to change.
They dive into “evergreen companies” that prioritise purpose over short-term gains, focusing on steady growth and employee-driven success. Packed with business wisdom, this episode is a must-listen for those aiming to build truly great companies.
On today’s podcast:
- Evergreen companies and what they have in common
- What makes a great business
- Small Giants: what makes them successful and how can they fail
- The Great Game Of Business: key takeaways
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Who is Bo Burlingham
Bo Burlingham has been writing about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship for 40 years, mainly for Inc. magazine, where he served as executive editor and then editor at large. He is currently a contributing writer for Forbes. Along the way, he has authored five books, the most recent being Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top. He previously authored Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, which was a finalist for the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award. That book inspired the Small Giants Community, which he co-founded with Paul Spiegelman.
He has written three other books with coauthors, including two with Jack Stack, CEO of Springfield Holdings Corp. and the pioneer of open-book management—The Great Game of Business (selected as one of the 100 best business books of all time) and A Stake in the Outcome— and one with serial entrepreneur Norm Brodsky entitled Street Smarts. He lives with his wife of 53 years, Lisa, in Long Beach, California. They have two children and four grandchildren.
What you’ll learn from Bo Burlingham
02:21 – Dave Whorton’s Journey Discovering Business Creation In The 90s
04:45 – What Are Evergreen Companies and What They Have In Common
10:12 – The Tugboat Institute: Creation And Growth
14:38 –Why Jim Collins Was Turned Off By Silicon Valley
17:29 – Small Giants: Companies That Chose To Be Big, Not Great
19:12 – Bo’s Definition Of A Great Business
21:25 – How Small Giants Can Fail And How To Avoid It
26:02 – What Happens When A Company Fails To Adapt To Change
32:17 – Key Takeaways From The Great Game of Business
36:23 – What Is Profit?
40:28 – A Journey Of Continuous Learning