Forbes is a name that’s synonymous with business. Their mission is to recognize the movers and shakers of the world, as well as the practices and trends that keep them moving forward. One intriguing trend being highlighted is the idea that success in business isn’t always rooted in growth. Is bigger truly better, or are there other paths to prosperity? The Small Giants concept suggests the latter.

Originally coined by Bo Burlingham in his 2005 Small Giants book, Small Giants are companies who have chosen to prioritize purpose and people over profit. An entire community, conference and leadership academy has emerged from these ideas, and Forbes pairs with the Small Giants Community each year to recognize 25 of the nation’s leading small businesses. We’re proud to say that Forbes recognized InterWorks as a Small Giant for 2019! You can check out the full list here.

“For years, businesses were measured solely by how much revenue they could rake in or the number of warm bodies seated in their cubicles. InterWorks has always been different in that we’re motivated by a deep focus on doing amazing work with an amazing group of people. We strive for quality and greatness over profit. The fact that Forbes and the Small Giants Community recognizes that kind of value is special to us, and we’re thrilled to be recognized on a big stage for simply being us.”

– Behfar Jahanshahi, CEO, InterWorks

What Makes InterWorks a Small Giant?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video must be worth a thousand pictures, right? What we’re getting at is that we made a fun video summing up our thoughts on what it means to be a Small Giant. Keep reading after the video for some additional thoughts.

If we could boil down our ethos to a few words, it would be these: InterWorks is people driven. For our clients, we settle for nothing less than their absolute satisfaction. The other side of that coin is that we’re not afraid to part ways with clients who aren’t a good fit. Life is too short to do work you don’t love. This also frees us up to give more care to the clients who are a joy to work with and can benefit from our solutions.

For our employees, being people driven means putting their wellbeing ahead of things like profit and growth. That means creating a work environment that’s fun, encouraging and full of opportunity. This starts by putting them in the driver’s seat of leadership decisions. Rather than barking orders at them, we rely on them to decide where we go next. This grassroots approach gives our people a sense of true ownership.

Focusing on people has taken us to some amazing individuals in the past 20 or so years. Today, InterWorks consultants span the globe, helping massive enterprises and local businesses alike do more with technology. Though the Forbes article only mentions our US team, what we do would be impossible without our UK, European and Asian-Pacific counterparts. Everything we do is truly a team effort.

Perhaps the best part of this honor is that InterWorks is being recognized for doing what we’ve always done. That’s what makes the idea of being a Small Giant so close to our hearts, and it’s a mindset we’ll continue to pursue for years to come. If you’re interested to see the difference a Small Giant like InterWorks can make on your IT and data efforts, we’d love to get to know you. Reach out today and start a conversation.