10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry

Killing Giants by Stephen Denny is not the first book on the subject of how smaller enterprises can compete successfully with the market leaders. However, it is probably the most accessible and its ideas are straightforward to implement.

Practical Messages Clearly Presented

The ways in which Killing Giants presents the ideas lend themselves to creating practical strategies for any business that is competing against much larger incumbents. Denny stresses he is not providing advice but telling stories from which the reader can learn. Killing Giants consists of ten broad messages. One, or more, stories, illustrate each section. From each story, Stephen Denny pulls out what he sees as the key lessons and puts them into a wider context.

At the end of each chapter, Denny pulls all the lessons together with the overall message. So while the content is not advice of the form: do this, that or the other, Killing Giants steers the reader to possible strategies. The reader is then left to apply what they have learnt, the ideas, to their own situation. It works well as the ideas are practical and the messages are down to earth so reinterpreting top specific situations is straightforward.

As Stephen Denny clearly expresses the ideas with minimal management jargon applying them to real-world situations should not be difficult. Readers can adopt some immediately and others will require more thought. The ability to move quickly will encourage the smaller business owner to use the ideas. Used with imagination and commitment the ideas in Killing Giants should enable the smaller player to claim their niche.

Thought Provoking and Practical Business Strategies

Highly readable, Killing Giants, is a thought provoking but practical insight into how small businesses can play to their strengths to compete effectively against much larger competitors. I regard any management book as good value if it provides one or two ideas I can use; by that measure Killing Giants is great value as all the ideas are usable.

Killing Giants is highly recommended reading for any entrepreneur competing in what feels like impenetrable markets. Stephen Denny shows there is hope, opportunity and even advantages of being a smaller competitor. If you run a business competing with giants stop reading this review and read the book instead.

Killing Giants, 10 strategies to topple the goliath in your industry (2011, ISBN: 978-0-241-95368-6) by Stephen Denny is published in paperback by Portfolio, Penguin at £14.99.