10 Secrets to Business Success

Below are 10 tips for entrepreneurs. They are taken from the best-selling book The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers by Keith McFarland:

1. The sexiest businesses don't always win - the list of top growing companies included a nuts-and-bolts distributor, a snowmobile maker, and a payroll processor.

2. It's not all about the entrepreneur - leaders work hard to put the company's vision (and not their own personality) at the center of things.

3. Entrepreneurs aren't always risk takers - contrary to conventional wisdom, entrepreneurs are actually distributed evenly across the risk-taking spectrum.

4. Founders don't need to let go - rather than letting go, founders and founding teams need to redefine their roles as the business grows.

5. You don't necessarily have to stick to your knitting - companies need to be constantly scanning the changing needs of the customer and developments in the industry.

6. You don't need OPM (other people's money)- the right investor at the right time can be crucial, but outside money is far from a requirement.

7. It's not all about hiring the right people - successful companies focus more on making the people already in the company productive through intense training and education.

8. It doesn't matter where you went to school - among 500 top performing companies, one company was run by a Ph.D in statistics and former college professor; another was run by a person who hit the bricks right out of high school.

9. You don't have to let the MBAs take over - companies large and small alike should strive to create an entrepreneurial enterprise that combines the quickness and customer focus of an entrepreneurial firm with the systems and processes of a more mature organization.

10. Strategy isn't just the job of the CEO - successful companies strive to get people throughout the organization thinking about and debating strategy.