Mojo: The Common Thread Among Forbes' Best Small Companies In America, 2016

Forbes Magazine, in conjunction with Small Giants, will be releasing a story in the February 8, 2016 issue for The Best Small Companies in America, 2016.  Click here to read the full article before its print release.  At the time of this post, the Small Giants story is 6th on the top 10 most read posts on Forbes.com.

The article identifies the top 25 companies who have not only grown very quickly, but also has leadership that contributes in other nonfinancial ways as well, such as being great at what they do, creating great places to work, providing great service to customers, making great contributions to their communities and finding great ways to lead their lives.

The companies were selected based on the following criteria from Bo Burlingham’s famous book, Small Giants:

• The company has been acknowledged as outstanding by those who know the industry best
• It has had the opportunity to grow much faster, but its leaders decided to focus on being great rather than just big
• It has been recognized for its contributions to its community and to society
• It has maintained its financial health for at least ten years by having a sound business model, a strong balance sheet and steady profit margins
• It is privately owned and closely held
• It is human-scale, meaning frontline employees have real interaction with top leaders
• It has Mojo, the business equivalent of charisma 

I especially like that last one, Mojo.

In all seriousness, we here at Mojo Media Labs are both excited and inspired by the companies who made this year’s list.  It provides us an opportunity to reflect internally on the exciting growth that we have had over the last year and our desire to aspire to exhibit all of the admirable attributes of a Small Giant company.  We know that we would be nowhere without our wonderful clients and most of all, our highly intelligent and passionate people.  Tony Shea, founder of Zappos said, “brand and culture are two sides of the same coin, brand is the lagging indicator of culture.”  We have the most amazing people behind the Mojo Media Labs brand.

Our people are what make Mojo Media Labs not only a great place to work, but also a place that inspires greatness, both internally and externally.  We focus on being great in all that we do, and believe that that passion, collaboration, and creativity (and the rest of our core values carry over into the work for our clients (and the results that we produce for them).  We love our core values and believe it is the straw that stirs our drink.  We like to believe that everyone on the team would tell you the same thing.  In fact, we asked a few of our fellow Mojoers what it means to be a part of the Mojo culture, and here are just a few of their responses:

“The best part about Mojo’s culture is that you can challenge yourself in a positive, open environment.  A goal dashboard is on the wall for all to see, there is something new to learn every day and you can pick the CEO or president’s brain from day one.  How many other companies can say that?  It makes coming to work each day very rewarding.”  - Daniel Berry, Copywriter

"I love helping to contribute to the “Whole” which at Mojo  "is greater than the sum of it’s parts”.  I love collaborating with my team and I love collaborating with my clients.  Conscious Collaboration just happens to be be a Mojo Core Value and that I’m surrounded by a team that enjoys the collaboration as much as I do is a joy!"  - Sonja Gray, Account Manager

“Mojoey is a baby kangaroo named Mo — Mo Joey.  But seriously, to me, ‘Mojoey’ is our agency’s drive to be the best at producing results for our clients, not just making money.  Every individual on our team supports each other by working in his or her sweet spot.  As a designer, this motivates me to make a huge visual impact for each and every project so everyone can be successful.”  - Bree Smith, Designer


We are proud of our long standing relationship with the Small Giants Community, to helping their continued cause, and to exercising our common values of being great at what we do, creating a great culture and place to work, providing great service to our clients, and making a positive impact on our community.  Visit our Small Giants page here.

Is your company a Small Giant – Apply Today to become an official member at Smallgiants.org.

About Small Giants
The Small Giants Community is an international group of small business leaders who are committed to identifying, connecting and developing values-driven business leaders.  They are a thriving group of passionate, inspired leaders who work together to strengthen and elevate the Small Giants philosophy.

Learn more about Small Giants here, and discover the book that inspired the movement.