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Growing Pains: Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm
Since it was first published in 1986, Growing Pains has become a classic resource for understanding how start-ups can make the transition to become large, professionally-managed organizations that maintain the special spark that launched them. In the fourth edition of Growing Pains, authors Eric Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle have thoroughly revised and updated the book to include new ideas and concepts including information about strategic planning, Sarbanes-Oxley, family businesses, and overcoming growing pains, as well as new examples and cases of companies.
472 pages, Hardcover
First published November 19, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 30, 2008
The information in this book deserves at least four stars, but the writing style only deserves one star, in my opinion. My editing fingers were itching to get ahold of the manuscript and rework it. This could be a really fascinating book, I think, if it was rewritten.
Unfortunately, the author wrote in a very academic style, which made this an excellent book if you wanted to be lulled into sleepiness, but a less-than-ideal book if you wanted to be engaged in understanding new concepts. The author kept talking about what he was going to tell you in chapter 6 or 14, to the point where you just wanted him to get to the point. And when he referred to the growth stages of companies, he called them stage 2 or 3, when it would have been much more helpful if he had referred to them as the "Expansion stage" or the "Professionalization stage." Maybe that seems picky, but it really bogs the reading down.
On the plus side, the content and ideas were fascinating. The company I work for is experiencing growth pains, and I had many "aha" moments reading this book. It all makes a lot more sense now. There are many case studies, which, though dated (generally from the 80s), are still helpful in understanding how the concepts fit into real life situations.
If you can wade through academic writing, this book is worth the effort, but it can be a very tedious challenge to get to those intriguing concepts.
Unfortunately, the author wrote in a very academic style, which made this an excellent book if you wanted to be lulled into sleepiness, but a less-than-ideal book if you wanted to be engaged in understanding new concepts. The author kept talking about what he was going to tell you in chapter 6 or 14, to the point where you just wanted him to get to the point. And when he referred to the growth stages of companies, he called them stage 2 or 3, when it would have been much more helpful if he had referred to them as the "Expansion stage" or the "Professionalization stage." Maybe that seems picky, but it really bogs the reading down.
On the plus side, the content and ideas were fascinating. The company I work for is experiencing growth pains, and I had many "aha" moments reading this book. It all makes a lot more sense now. There are many case studies, which, though dated (generally from the 80s), are still helpful in understanding how the concepts fit into real life situations.
If you can wade through academic writing, this book is worth the effort, but it can be a very tedious challenge to get to those intriguing concepts.
December 12, 2021
Read this book cover to cover in 2021. A few useful concepts (eg the pyramid of org dev and generally the mental model of maturing companies with changing needs at different stages of their lives) and good reminder of how important culture as a competitive advantage is. Writing style is extremely long winded though. The book doesn’t have too many pages but don’t be tricked by that - each page is packed. The case studies are particularly disappointing - way too superficial and insanely repetitive. In fact, the case studies are testimonials rather than true case studies (in the MBA sense of the term) - selling the authors’ consulting services rather than helping the reader translate theory into practice. I would have also loved to see more content on stage 1 & 2 companies. The utility of this book for early stage entrepreneurs is very limited / useful only in the long run.
February 5, 2018
Who should read this book?
Growing Pains about practical aspects of scaling up an organization. What to do and what to focus on at different stages of growth. Helpful for entrepreneurs scaling their companies and managers responsible for devising organizational systems (planning, management and operational systems, defining culture) in growing companies.
Contents
Described stages of organizational growth and typical problems and solutions at each stage
Management in a pill: strategic planning, organizational structure, management/leadership development, control and performance management systems, culture management.
Transition to a public company
Tips for family run businesses.
Key takeaways
The authors worked as consultants e.g. for Starbucks where they were implementing the principles from the book. There are lots of practical examples of e.g. goal planning, management and organizational models. The book gives a quite complete overview of different aspects of organization management from the growing/scaling aspect. Very informative.
Growing Pains about practical aspects of scaling up an organization. What to do and what to focus on at different stages of growth. Helpful for entrepreneurs scaling their companies and managers responsible for devising organizational systems (planning, management and operational systems, defining culture) in growing companies.
Contents
Described stages of organizational growth and typical problems and solutions at each stage
Management in a pill: strategic planning, organizational structure, management/leadership development, control and performance management systems, culture management.
Transition to a public company
Tips for family run businesses.
Key takeaways
The authors worked as consultants e.g. for Starbucks where they were implementing the principles from the book. There are lots of practical examples of e.g. goal planning, management and organizational models. The book gives a quite complete overview of different aspects of organization management from the growing/scaling aspect. Very informative.
March 16, 2023
This book is full of great principles that put technical names and strategies to some things I recognized in our organization. However, this book is extremely dry and academic and a challenge to get through.
May 29, 2025
Немного академичная, но любопытная книга про верхнеуровневые проблемы и задачи бизнеса
August 23, 2009
I read the original version back in the early 90s. If you skip over the somewhat voluminous examples, it's a great, pithy overview of common issues faced by a growing company.
July 23, 2011
Textbookish analysis of growing pains in small companies. Some good stuff on how to spot emerging growth problems and how to evolve the company culture as it scales
November 26, 2011
While I agree with other reviewers that the writing is too academic, the content is fascinating. A great look into how organizations evolve.
March 30, 2013
A must-read book on organizational behavior and design for knowledge workers, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.
May 16, 2019
Painfully dry, but if you can get past that, this book provides a comprehensive overview of organizational transformation and the leadership required to manage it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews