Phimation's 2012 Small Business Trend Report highlights 8 trends that Second Stage companies should use in their strategies.

1. Small Business
2012 Trend Report
The Top Trends Impacting Second Stage Companies
December 2011

2. About Phimation & Phimation is a management consulting, coaching, and training firm
that works with a wide variety of Stage 2 small businesses – those
This Report who are past start-up and at a stage of sustainability, that typically
have 20-200 employees.
These trends are taken from our work assessing issues in the
operating environment inside small businesses, and in the market
environment around small businesses.
The point of this report is to spur discussions in your leadership
team about how you could or should be doing things differently.
The full version of this report has recommendations for how to use
the trends.
Dave Haviland Dave Haviland is author of this report and The Stage 2 Owner’s
Founder & CEO Manual. For the last 10 years, he has been a strategy and
management advisor to Second Stage companies. He serves on
the boards of several companies, and has helped hundreds of
companies to grow their businesses, operate more effectively, and
transition their leadership.
The Stage 2 Owner’s Manual (stage2ownersmanual.com) includes
a chapter about how to use trends in your company’s strategy.

3. 2012 Small Business Trends
New Agraria
Our world is looking more and more like an agrarian society, rather than the industrial environment
that many small business leaders are accustomed to. In 2012, small businesses will face the
business world much like farmers of the 1800s… with “seasons” and weather patterns, and the need
to manage the changing environment one plot at a time. In the New Agraria, though, today’s small
businesses will work in communities defined by interests, instead of geography. Photo by Prayoga D. Widyanto

4. 2012 Small Business Trends
It’s a MAD* World
(* Massive Adaptation Daily)
Small businesses are operating in an environment of extreme change. The best
companies are finding a way to survive day-to-day, and engaging all of their staff to
evolve in significant ways that create new opportunities and efficiencies.
Photo by Hakan Dahlstrom

5. 2012 Small Business Trends
The Almighty Network
The balance of power is shifting – The Almighty Network is now in control. The Internet provides
small businesses with essential availability, intelligence, capability, and capacity to serve their
customers – but it’s not just a one-way relationship. The Network is demanding more from small
businesses, and the best companies are responding.
Photo by Masakazu Matsumoto

6. 2012 Small Business Trends
Stretched
The tough economic environment is stretching small businesses to their
limits and forcing them to up their game. Strong leaders are responding to
this challenge and gaining strength; the challenge is sapping weak leaders.
Photo by Wapster

7. 2012 Small Business Trends
Lean and Mean
Small businesses are keeping most of their costs lean. The smartest companies are also
taking a strong growth-oriented approach to the most important parts of their businesses.
Photo by irene nobrega

8. 2012 Small Business Trends
Investing in the Dark
The environment is as uncertain as ever, but small companies are making strategic
investments. The best companies are implementing “traction control systems” for
their investments by upgrading their accountability and decision-making processes
– leaders cannot see very far ahead of them, so they’re relying on “improved
handling” to ensure their success.
Photo by cuttlefish

9. 2012 Small Business Trends
Thirty-SOMETHINGS!
Thirty-something year-olds are significantly impacting small businesses,
as they move into leadership positions. Companies are taking advantage
of the new set of capabilities that these young leaders bring to the
workplace.
Photo by Linus Bohman

10. 2012 Small Business Trends
Empathy: Humanity’s Best App
The world is more complex than any of us can manage on our own. It’s through empathy that we
help others make the world simpler. Small businesses can no longer just rely on physical proximity
to connect with customers – they need to use The Almighty Network to create emotional proximity.
Photo by maewe

11. phimation.com
For more information about Stage 2 small business strategy and management