Trust Each Other
We understand that the team will thrive when we fully trust one another and assume the best intentions, support each other, and work toward a common goal.
We’ll let our Founder, Paul Spiegelman tell the Small Giants story…
“Let’s go back to the very beginning. In 2006, I read Bo’s book, and it inspired me for two reasons. First, I identified with every single one of the companies that Bo talked about in his book - small to mid-sized privately-held companies doing business differently. I immediately recognized a shared vision in the way that I approach business. These leaders were passionate and purposeful; committed to growing not just for growth’s sake, but to enhance the lives of the people that worked in the company.
Second, I heard echoes of my own experience in the stories he shared. As my company grew, I became a deep believer in the connection between culture and business success. In fact, I had just written my first book on the topic, and found myself working to convince other leaders to consider this transformative style of leadership. After reading Small Giants, I took a shot in the dark and sent a blind email to Bo asking if he would consider writing a foreword for my book. To my surprise, he said yes – and as we got to know one another, a true friendship emerged.
Over the next couple of years, I often told Bo that I suspected there were many more leaders like me out there who would identify with the Small Giants philosophies. Selfishly, I wanted to find a way to meet them. Look – we’re all trying to make our way in business, and there’s no better way to do it than to find like-minded individuals with whom we can learn from and share best practices. And while we can all choose to attend conferences headlined by famous entrepreneurs, I’d rather find practitioners just like me with real stories, a keen sense of vulnerability and heart to connect with one-to-one. That’s when I had the big idea. Why not establish a community of inspired, like-minded leaders – from aspiring Small Giants to seasoned leaders – and engage them with teaching, challenging and learning from one another?
Over dinner one night, Bo challenged me to take the idea from vision to reality. He said that to do this, we would need an entrepreneur to take the idea and run with it. After all, he was a writer by trade who had spent nearly 30 years with Inc. Although he wrote about businesses all the time, he had never run one himself. Meanwhile, I was running my own successful company and pursuing the Small Giants philosophy with my employees on a daily basis. That’s when I committed to bringing the idea to life, and the Small Giants Community was born.
It’s true – there are already a number of CEO peer groups and leadership communities out there. But, we knew we would differentiate ourselves in one key way…our members would share a passion for values-driven leadership, committing to let purpose and people drive our strategies rather than financials. In our new Community, we would develop relationships with each other by designing intimate, unique events, delivering backstage passes to incredible companies and finding ways to impact each other’s businesses and lives in measurable, positive ways.
I’m so proud of our Community and what is has grown to be, but I’m most proud of the common refrain that we hear from new members. They say that in our Community, they’ve found their “family” of the business world. If our ideas, values, and even our origin story resonate with you, we hope you’ll choose to be part of our mission – and a part of our family.
In the end, it’s not what we do, it’s who we are – we’re the Small Giants Community.”
Paul Spiegelman
Our Purpose, Vision & Values
Core Purpose
To identify, connect, and develop purpose-driven business leaders.
Vision
It’s the year 2020, and the Small Giants Community is making an impact. The Community is growing and our team is, too. Each of our team members has their own specialization to contribute to the growth of the Community. Although we’re still virtual, we’ve built a strong remote culture defined by trust, communication and lifelong learning.
With the Small Giants Leadership Academy in full swing, our focus has expanded from organizations to individual leaders. This year, we filled four cohorts with next-generation leaders, bringing us to a total of nine cohorts since we launched. We’ve learned that teaching next-generation leaders how to be Small Giants amplifies our impact and positions organizations to have long-term sustainability of these practices. At the same time, founders and owners are still engaged with the program as facilitators and teachers, and they’ve become thought leaders along the way. So far, we’ve graduated five cohorts of the Academy and all of our Journey cohorts, and many of them choose to stay engaged through a Virtual Peer Group.
Our annual Summit is one of the most anticipated events of the year for purpose-driven business leaders. We now host nearly 300 attendees, expanding our reach while still protecting the spirit of the event. The Summit is a powerful platform for our members to share their stories and gain exposure for themselves and their organizations. More than ever, our content – the Summit, our blog, online Fishbowls, and the podcast – allows our members to share their story with the world. Our content-first approach drives people to us and compels them to stick around and deepen their understanding of what it means to be a Small Giants leader. All of our offerings are now open to sponsorships, and we’re building true partnerships with organizations and individuals who are aligned with what we do and excited to support us.
Our partnership with Forbes is strong. We’ve just published our fifth annual list of Forbes Small Giants, and this year’s announcement made the biggest splash yet. The list has become more than just an article – it’s a year-round conversation that creates meaningful buzz for the Community and brings quality leads to our brand.
Our hard work and commitment over the past few years has paid off – we’re now a financially self-sustaining organization. As we scale our offerings and grow the Community, we’re careful to grow with purpose. As always, our hard work is driven by our core purpose: to identify, connect, and develop purpose-driven business leaders.
Core Values
Grow with Purpose
We continuously invest in our learning and development, seeking new opportunities to grow our skills and strengthen our weaknesses so that we can better serve the Community.
Work Mindfully
We prioritize meaningful, quality work over everything. We’re committed to being present with the current objective and giving it our full attention, providing the best possible opportunities and resources to our Community.
Create Great Experiences
We are committed to doing things differently. We understand that the Small Giants difference is high-class, personal and meaningful experiences that result in lifelong learning and lasting relationships.
Be Responsive
We believe in meeting and exceeding the promises we make. In working with each other and with customers, we are responsive and accountable.
Our Team
Meet the people working behind-the-scenes to put the Small Giants philosophy at the forefront of conversation and practice.
Hamsa Daher
Executive Director
Small Giants Community
Paul Spiegelman
Co-Founder
Small Giants Community
Bo Burlingham
Co-Founder, Author of Small Giants
Small Giants Community
Jillian Rodriguez
Storyteller at Large
Small Giants Community
Rachel Reardon
Creative Director
Small Giants Community
Jason Armour
Multimedia Specialist
Small Giants CommunityWant to grab a virtual cup of coffee?
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Hamsa Daher
Executive Director
Hamsa is a business leader who is passionate about people, process and growth. She grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, moving to the U.S in 1991. Her first language is Arabic, and she speaks English and Spanish. Hamsa received her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Wayne State University and her MBA from Walsh College. After college, Hamsa worked for an immigration agency to help refugee and asylee populations assimilate into the US, learn English, and find employment. She then joined Walsh College as their first international student advisor where she helped recruit, admit and counsel over 400 international students over a period of 9 years. In her four years at Mango Languages, Hamsa recruited and mentored many employees, providing outstanding leadership. She was promoted to the COO/Integrator role in 2012, and helped lead Mango to its most successful year in 2014.
Paul Spiegelman
Co-Founder
Paul Spiegelman is the co-founder of the Small Giants Community, a peer-group of purpose-driven business leaders. He is the former chief culture officer of Stericycle, the co-founder and former CEO of BerylHealth and the founder and chairman of The Beryl Institute.
Paul is a New York Times best-selling author and has been honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Paul is a sought-after speaker and author on leadership, employee engagement, entrepreneurship, culture, and leading a purpose-driven life. He has made many radio and TV appearances and his views have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, and he is currently a columnist for Forbes.com.
Paul practiced law for two years prior to starting BerylHealth. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA and a law degree from Southwestern University.
Bo Burlingham
Co-Founder, Author of Small Giants
Bo Burlingham is the author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big (Portfolio, 2006) and an editor-at-large of Inc. Magazine. Bo joined Inc. in January 1983 as a senior editor and became executive editor six months later, a position he held for the next seven years or so. In 1990 he became editor-at-large for a number of reasons, including his desire to go back to writing. He subsequently wrote two books with Jack Stack, the co-founder and CEO of Springfield Remanufacturing Corp. and the pioneer of open-book management. One of the books, The Great Game of Business, has sold more than 300,000 copies. The other, A Stake in the Outcome, has also done pretty well and gotten great reviews.
Before joining Inc., Bo freelanced for various publications, including Esquire, Harper’s, Boston Magazine, and Mother Jones. Bo was also managing editor of Ramparts magazine. In 1982, he joined Fidelity Investments, where he wrote for Peter Lynch, Ned Johnson, and other honchos until coming to Inc. From 1992 to 1997, he served on the board of The Body Shop Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the international cosmetics company. He was also a founder, with Tom Peters, of PAC World, a weird international networking group that gave him a chance to meet a lot of zany—and brilliant—people from around the globe.
Jillian Rodriguez
Storyteller at Large
Jillian received her B.A. in Sociology and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI in 2012. She graduated with honors from U of M’s Residential College. For over four years, Jillian has worked as a freelance writer, working with a range of diverse clients to provide creative, high-quality writing, editing, and social media services. Jillian partners with brands to elevate their messaging, strengthen their voice, and create consistent, powerful copy. From managing Chevrolet’s social media to helping a small, bean-to-bar chocolate company market their mission, her experience runs the gamut. She is excited to work with the Small Giants Community to tell the incredible stories of its leaders and promote their philosophies the world over. Outside of her daily work, Jillian loves to write and read short fiction and essays. She’s a lifelong Michigander and the proud owner of a very dysfunctional – but very cute – shih tzu.
Jason Armour
Multimedia Specialist
Jason jumps in wherever he’s needed, from publications, videos, infographics, logos, videos, web design and development. For eleven years, he served as Creative Director for a group of small businesses. In 2012 he started Armour Creative, his own creative services and solutions business. Jason is passionate about corporate culture and is a co-author of Smile Guide: Employee Perspectives on Culture, Loyalty, and Profit, has spoken on a panel about customer service at Inc. 500|5000, and his corporate-culture videos have been featured in the Wall Street Journal. Jason loves to travel the world with his wife, typically backpacking or camping, and making it up as they go along.
Rachel Reardon
Creative Director
After earning her B.A. in French Literature from Oakland University, Rachel joined the colorful language-learning company Mango Languages. Within three years, Rachel transitioned into the role of Marketing Director, leading overall brand and creative strategy and implementing a full company rebrand.
Ready for her next challenge, Rachel moved to imageOne, a document lifecycle management company and all-star Small Giant, to lead its marketing department. There, she experienced what it felt like to work for an organization that radiates the six qualities of a Small Giant (spoiler: it’s an amazing feeling!).
Motivated by her inner space geek, Rachel then joined the team at the Michigan Science Center, marketing the Detroit-based science museum and inspiring curious minds of all ages to appreciate the cosmos.
Rachel loves to bake, binge watch Star Trek, and spend time in Montréal.