The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers

Based on a five-year, 7,000-company study

The vast majority of small businesses stay small-and not by choice. Only the most savvy and persistent-a tiny one tenth of one percent-break through to the very highest ranks. In The Breakthrough Company, technology CEO and Fortune 500 consultant Keith McFarland draws upon an extensive empirical study to reveal exactly how everyday companies become extraordinary, showing that breakthrough success is associated with a clearly identifiable set of strategies and skills that anyone in any business can emulate-from small startup to industry leader.

With powerful and specific action steps concluding each chapter-and invaluable advice on virtually every page from business leaders who've taken their companies to extraordinary levels of growth and profitability-The Breakthrough Company is stuffed with real-world tools and myth-busting insights that can be used by anyone wanting his or her business to join this exclusive circle.

"Think Good to Great for those still small enough to think big."
--Bob Eckert, chairman and CEO, Mattel, Inc.

"If you're looking for a breakthrough, break open this book."
--Harvey Mackay, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive

Featuring a bonus excerpt from Keith McFarland's new book, Bounce

KEITH R. McFARLAND is one of the nation’s leading business consultants, having worked with corporations such as Microsoft, Motorola, Morgan Stanley, Vans, and House of Blues. A regular columnist for BusinessWeek, McFarland formerly served as CEO of technology firms Nivo International and Collectech Systems, and as dean of the Pepperdine University School of Business.