Loops

I picked up Loops: The Seven Keys to Small Business Success because I noticed it was co-written by Stephen Lundin, who also co-authored Fish! I absolutely loved Fish! It's a great business book that every small, medium or large business owner or manager should read.

Loops is a small book, and I knew it wouldn't take long to read. I suspected it would be written in the form of a parable, and I was right.

The story centers around a young man who's finishing his junior year in business school. He is given a summer assignment to study a successful businessman, and he decides to study his late father.

The story is a hook, a way to easily get the author's points across in a way that readers will enjoy. So don't expect great character development here, and parts of the story sound quite hokey. But don't let that stop you from reading this book.

In fact, if you're a small business owner, I'd encourage you to read this book with a group of like-minded people. It's a great book for discussion, with application points at the end of each chapter to help you make your business strong and successful. Plan to meet once a week or once a month, and plan on about ten meetings - one for Part One, one for each of the seven loops, and one for the conclusion.

Reading the chapters won't take much time, even if you're a slow reader, but what will make this book powerful is following up and applying the principles to your business.