Our Story

What started out as a book, grew into a Community.

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

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.

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.