Most small business owners appreciate the value of continuous learning when it comes to improving their ability to run their companies. But let’s face it; given the many demands that come with building and growing a small business, it can be hard to find the time needed to learn new things.

This is why I am so pleased to tell you about Performance Breakthrough: The Four Secrets of Passionate Organizations, now in its second edition from consultant and author Mike Goldman. In just 151 pages, Goldman has packed some of the most valuable business guidance I’ve come across. Devote two to three hours of your time to this volume and you’ll come away with valuable lessons what will help you take your small business to new heights.

The book tells the engaging story of Andy Martin, a business owner who sees his dreams of entrepreneurial success crumbling around his ears. His business took off like a rocket in its first few years, but now has run into problem after problem and is in serious danger of failing as client after client is lost. I’m sure most small business owners will relate to Andy as he gets advice about the four secrets from an unlikely source and then, with the help of four people on his core team, sets out to turn things around. Short chapters along the way provide excellent, very do-able “starter ideas” on how to leverage the power of each secret to achieving breakthrough performance.

I won’t spoil the book for you by revealing the four secrets mentioned in Goldman’s title. Suffice it to say, that the main message of the book is about how you can inject more passion into your employees and thereby bring performance to new heights that will delight existing customers and attract a steady stream of new ones.

The book doesn’t just give you good advice; for this second edition, Goldman has added the web addresses for a series of online tools that will help you implement the ideas he discusses.

Having read many (and even ghostwritten a couple) books with advice on how to grow a successful business, I would rank Performance Breakthrough right up there with the best. And the beauty of it is that if you devote just one evening to this short book, you’ll come away with plenty of ideas on how you can improve your small business.

Note: I was provided a free review copy of this book by its publisher, Highpoint Executive Publishing.