Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack

by Donna Fenn

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Editorial Reviews
Product Description

Outsmart your competitors, leap to the head of the pack, and become an alpha dog!

How does an average company distinguish itself in the marketplace, generate higher sales than its competitors, and earn the lasting loyalty of customers and employees?

Alpha Dogs tells the inspiring stories of savvy entrepreneurs who discovered the perfect formula and rose to the top. In her personal and probing style, Donna Fenn, a twenty-year veteran of Inc. magazine, introduces eight men and women who share their hard-earned insights and practical tips—from Chris Zane, whose retail bike shop has perfected the art of customer service, to Deb Weidenhamer, who transformed a sleepy auction house with her innovative use of technology. Alpha Dogs is a practical guidebook for every current and aspiring self-starter who wants to stand out and succeed.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 5 out of 5 stars

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

A Motivating Read, 2008-07-01
I found Alpha Dogs to be an inspiring read. The author, Donna Fenn, does a magnificent job of taking eight businesses and highlighting specific aspects of the business that make it a "leader of the pack." For example, Chris Zane of Zane's Cycles goes to remarkable lengths to attract and maintain his customers. Jim Throneburg at THOR-LO constantly innovates a commodity product to maintain his leadership status and Trish Karter of Dancing Deer Baking carefully fosters the development of her brand. I just launched my small business and took pages of notes about the featured companies and their strategies for success. While none of the companies featured in Alpha Dogs are in my industry, the basic themes of innovation, customer service, branding, reinventing and technology stretch across all industries. This is a valuable and informative read that motivates any small business owner to progress forward.

8 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Be the Lead Dog!, 2008-04-21
I really like the concept behind ALPHA DOGS: HOW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS CAN BECOME A LEADER OF THE PACK by Donna Fenn. So how is the concept different than any other book? Fenn combines the strategies she is promoting with small business profiles of companies that exemplify those very strategies.

For example, chapter three "Convert Your Employees Into True Believers" profiles the Dorothy Lane Grocery Company of Ohio. Penn outlines a brief history of the company and how they came about adopting the employee training process that has made them so successful. Penn outlines the entire process from hiring to orientation to continuous training and learning to what they call intrapreneurship. The profile concludes with the companies community involvement and how they keep their employees involved as well.

Each chapter ends with two to four pages of tips from the profile company on how to implement the discussed strategies and processes. In other words, this book doesn't just talk the talk, it walks the walks with actual working examples to follow or emulate. The mix of companies also enhances interest. There's literally something here every company can relate to.

There's also a great deal of really good back matter here. Each chapter's sources are listed for further study. Fenn is a contributing editor of Inc magazine. Those familiar with her articles have come to expect from her, exactly the kind of information this book delivers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

An insightful and entertaining read, full of very valuable lessons, 2007-12-30
I absolutely loved this book - I blew through it in two days, which is a really rare occurrence for me.

This book was full of insightful and valuable lessons, in the form of entertaining and inspiring stories about 8 businesses that, through the techniques explained in this book, have become leaders in their otherwise mundane or unglamorous industries.

I have made this book required reading for everyone working in my company, and will be buying additional copies as we hire more employees. A truly worthwhile read, and unlike many books of this kind, it completely avoids being pedantic.

I will be looking forward to Fenn's latest book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

the best, 2007-11-26
This was a very informative book using real life businesses and their successes and struggles

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Energize your Entrepreneurial Spirit, 2007-11-26
Are you a small business owner? This book is for you! Donna Fenn captures the spirit of small business ownership and the entrepreneurial energy that it takes to compete in today's market. The non-traditional business examples (bicycles, socks, ice cream, grocery stores and more), will give you great ideas to kick start or re-energize your small business. Highly recommended!!!

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