Great Not Big

On running a small, innovative company
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Great Not Big

On running a small, innovative company
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • About
Mistakes & Failures, Ownership,

Atomic Ownership, Part 6: Lessons Learned

by Carl EricksonNovember 26, 20191 comment
Culture, Operations,

The case for detailed time tracking, part 3 – Fairness

by Shawn CrowleyDecember 20, 20171 comment

Have you ever had a co-worker or employee share a feeling of unfairness about their efforts going unnoticed or unrewarded based on their fixed salary?

sell-software-services-1
Sales & Marketing,

The how-can-we-help approach to sales is lean and effective

by Carl EricksonDecember 5, 20177 comments

If there’s one aspect of business that I’ve found technical founders struggle with, it’s sales. A lot of us don’t like it, don’t feel comfortable

About

Great Not Big is the brainchild of Carl Erickson, Founder of Atomic Object. It’s where we chronicle our management successes and failures, and share our ideas for creating a successful small company where people love to work.

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Culture, Operations,

The case for detailed time tracking, part 2 – Focus

by Shawn CrowleyOctober 24, 2017no comment

How do you know your work focus and level of effort are staying on target for your individual, team, and company goals? Even if you

Working time control - Stock Image
Culture, Operations,

The case for detailed time tracking – Atomic’s approach

by Shawn CrowleySeptember 20, 20173 comments

I’ve rigorously tracked my time at Atomic for 13 years. Yet when I talk with other professionals, I’m frequently reminded that many companies, teams, and individuals

Revenue by Client
Finances, Strategy,

Client diversity drives good financial results

by Carl EricksonSeptember 4, 20172 comments

Atomic is an intentionally-general software product development consultancy. We’ve found success through technology and client diversity. Instead of focusing on a single industry or technology

Our Industry, People, Strategy,

Jazz and the software company – A choreography of chaos and order

by Jonah BaileyAugust 8, 20172 comments

The longer I’m in leadership, the more I become aware of a simple, but harrowing fact: The best leaders in business improvise. A lot. In

company-architecture
Ownership, Structure,

What identifying a company architecture did for us

by Carl EricksonJuly 19, 2017no comment

Growth challenges the structure of any organization. In my experience, it’s easy to let those changes sneak up on you. As part of our recent

AO-JillDeVriesPhotography-199
Operations,

Why colocation? Addressing the objections to having a centralized team

by Jonah BaileyJune 20, 2017no comment

Everyone who works at Atomic as a full-time employee has the expectation of colocating with their team in one of our two offices in Michigan.

JillDeVriesPhotography-AtomicObject-236
People,

A milestone reached in Atomic’s goal to employ more women

by Carl EricksonJune 7, 20172 comments

We’re approaching a significant milestone in our company initiative to employ more women. When our last Accelerator member joins in mid-July, 25% of Atoms will

Matrix Management
Operations,

Can matrix management work in a services firm?

by Shawn CrowleyMay 10, 20171 comment

I never suspected I’d come to think matrix management might be a great idea for managing project-based, professional services firms like Atomic. My undergraduate business

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