Start at the End: How Companies Can Grow Bigger and Faster by Reversing Their Business Plan by David Lavinsky (28-Nov-2012) Hardcover

by Dave Lavinsky

Re-focus your business plan and achieve the success your business deservesBusiness owners, and their teams, often lose their way in the midst of the day-to-day stress of generating sales and profits. Whether your goal is selling millions of your product, expanding operations to a new location, or generating more profits, "Start at the End" offers a unique approach and action steps for business owners and entrepreneurs to redevelop your business plan and achieve ultimate success. You'll learn how to re-create your long-term vision and then make continuous progress in achieving that vision while continuing to hit your short-term goals. "Start at the End" offers inspiring stories of other entrepreneurs who have achieved significant success in this area, as well as easy-to-follow exercises and next steps. Shows how to develop a realistic business and financial model based on market dataExplains how to identify and pursue new opportunities, raise capital, and build growth strategies"Start at the End" gives business owners a chance to take a step back, re-evaluate your business, and redesign your business plan to achieve the success you dreamed of when you first launched your company.

Genres: Business

Hardcover

First published October 4, 2012

Reviews

[meo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I flicked through the book halfway without expecting too much, thinking of it as only a basic guideline and not sure whether or not to take detailed notes or just headings. Then I reckoned why not try writing a business plan of my own, regarding my most recent and current attempt to see how valuable the information actually is. Definitely changed my mind! Start at the end with a purpose, objective or just some expectations, and allow the book to walk you through multiple stages.

Sometimes a good book is not about its revolutionary ideas or emerging initiatives. Like a good design, a good book does the job it’s meant to do.

[Lori Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book on systems and planning for knowledge workers, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.

[Tracie Seward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d “Start at the End” with this book. Read the conclusion first and then just hit the chapters that relate to any topics you want/need to learn more about. Otherwise it’s a bit tedious for chapters on topics you already practice.

[Caitlin Gullatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing guideline for anyone wanting to start their own business. It makes you think about how to start a business from what you imagine it will end up as.. start at the end, literally.

[scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great simple no nonsense approach

Having the ability to Reverse engineering your business goals is great when implemented. identifying KPIs,tracking them,measuring them and instituting change is key. Thank you David Lavinsky.

[Luke]

a simple, yet overlooked model for building your businesses backward

[Mark Muckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

FEBRUARY 2020:
No good book should be read just once. . .
In 2013 I gave this 2 stars and the review below. At that time (first reading) I was digesting it cold, with no expectations and no preconceived contextual framework. I've just finished a re-reading of Start at the End, and am giving it 4 stars. What changed in 7 years? My professional lens and context.

This time around I read it and tried to contextualize it through a "consultant's view" as if I were trying to apply this framework to variations of my own professional reality: If I'm leading a business unit or sales team in a large organization, I still have responsibility for crafting my own Plan if corporate fails to do so. If I'm a small business owner, have I really created and structured a Plan that is specific, realistic and able to be articulated? If I'm a consultant to either of the two options, how would my advisory approach and message to clients mirror or differ from Lavinsky?

Digesting through all three viewpoints made the read slower and more challenging to internalize and then mentally apply externally, but made the content (overall) more relevant.

A decent read in 2013. A Better Read with more mileage in the rearview mirror.


MARCH 2013:
There's not a lot of revolutionary thinking or practice in business anymore, so to write a business guidance book that delivers that magical "ah-ha moment" is nearly a doomed endeavor from the start. Nonetheless, if as a reader I can dog-ear a half dozen pages and highlight a dozen sections in a book of this nature, I consider that time well spent, and try to extract those nuggets to add them into my own mental gumbo of business ideology.

What Lavnisky does well is point out and blueprint the value of starting your planning from your destination, not your starting point. Working backwards from a defined and measurable goal is a much easier and structured process, and the author offers some decent guidance on that process, which, with a little personal brainpower, can be modified to virtually any goal-oriented scenario besides the small business exit strategy: academic excellence, business management, household operations, etc. Looking beyond the example and embracing the concept is a worthwhile exercise.

[Book Him Danno · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the title of this book…I always find the end a great place to begin…except when reading books that is. I start at the end of new math problems that I am unfamiliar with, I start at the end in most magazines I read at the drs. office, I start at the end when making goals….what do I want to accomplish, so this is a great idea…starting at the end that is.

This book has some great ideas for growing your business. If you have a business then you need to be reading. You can’t expect to improve things without more knowledge on how business works and especially how yours works. What are you looking to accomplish? Well that is a good place to start…where do you see the business in 5 or 10 years? Start there. Also are you a good leader? So do your employees follow you and think that you know what you are doing and talking about? Well that is needed in any business and you need to get better if you feel you are lacking in this area.

Read this book and see how starting at the end with help you achieve what you planned to when you started the business in the first place. You may need to redesign your business plan…but if it isn’t working now that is a good thing to be doing. You need this book if you run a business or are part of a team that does….it’s your future… make it a good one.

[My Book Addiction and More MBA · Rating 5 out of 5]

START AT THE END: HOW COMPANIES CAN GROW BIGGER AND FASTER BY REVERSING THEIR BUSINESS PLAN by Dave Lavinsky is an interesting non-fiction/business. Chucked full of ideas,plans, business and financial model,how to build a strong marketing system and how to increase productivity. If you already own a business you still need to read this book and re-evaluate your dream business. You definitely need to read this book for your vision into the future. For any business owners, or entrepreneurs in your family. A must read! Received for an honest review from the publisher. Details may be find at John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and My Book Addiction and More.

RATING: 5

HEAT RATING: NONE (NON-FICTION)

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews

[David Pederson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for anyone who is trying to grow a business but lacks an MBA. It covers all the standard practices needed to help take an objective look at a business and plan for the future.

To be honest, I didn't know that most people didn't start with the end - really a vision and goal. I don't know how someone could become passionate without that endgame.

Perhaps it is just a bit of marketing but that shouldn't take away from the fact the book is solid and filled with useful activities and advice. The free downloadable worksheets are a nice touch too.

[Lendl Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "nugget" here was the reminder to consider where you are trying to go (e.g. a big hairy audacious goal) and then work backwards to determine what you need to do today, this month, and this year to position yourself for that. This requires discipline to step back from the day-to-day, which is much easier said than done.

Otherwise, I felt like everything else were very summarized and generalized business fundamentals (marketing, hiring, developing processes) that didn't warrant a new book.

[Boon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though there is no new ideas or management technique in this book, but to have someone compile all the great technique in order, and make it so easy to understand is very good for anyone who want to improve and grow their business (like me). I'll start practicing what Dave suggested immediately.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic 101. Good information to use as a starting point but not terribly insightful or ground breaking.

[Tqt]

Discover

[Dave Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not many unique or insightful ideas

Ideas pretty basic and very common. Wouldn't recommend to those who have even a modest amount of business experience already

[Martin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must for any startup.