Book SummaryGet Scalable, by Ryan Deiss

Does your business feel stuck no matter how much effort and time you put into it? In Traction, Gino Wickman argues that many businesses hit this growth ceiling because they lack clear systems and structure. To break through this stagnation, you must turn your business into a self-sustaining organization. Wickman provides a system for doing so, helping you eliminate common frustrations so that your business can run seamlessly without your constant oversight and grow at a faster rate than you thought possible.

In this guide, we’ll explore the six steps of Wickman’s system for building a better-functioning business, discussing how to establish a clear vision, organize your team effectively, track essential metrics, solve problems systematically, document your processes, and execute your vision by setting quarterly priorities. We’ll also supplement Wickman’s advice with insights from other business experts and provide additional tips for growing your business.

Factories are some of the most efficient, high-output operations in existence—they churn out products continuously, on tight schedules, using hundreds of workers. The field of leadership has plenty in common with factories, and leaders can learn a lot from their operation. Just like a factory, a manager has output, which is equal to the output of her team. Her team’s output is generated by her activities and how much effect—or leverage—they have.

In High Output Management, former CEO of Intel Andrew Grove applies manufacturing principles to management. In this book, you’ll learn which management activities to prioritize, how to increase their effectiveness, how to do them faster, and how to scale them.

Ben Horowitz was a public CEO through the dotcom bubble and burst. He learned a lot of hard lessons about how to build a company and get it to survive. Now co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, he shares his advice to other founders and senior executives on getting through your company’s inevitable hard times.

The book covers a wide span of topics, including handling the psychology of a failing company, building a good place to work, scaling a company, and being a good CEO. It’s targeted to startup founders and CEOs, but there’s good advice here for anyone who wants to help build a better company.