Reddit mentions of In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies

Not really. Back in mid-late-80's there was an incredible book, let me pause to see if I can google it...: )

yo, so much success....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_Excellence

http://www.amazon.com/In-Search-Excellence-Americas-Companies/dp/0060548789

That background is a little rough to read, but the book is amazingly well written. Sure, some of the companies are out of business now, etc. But he made a herculean effort to identify what makes companies great. We were familiar with most of those companies, you won't be. There have to be hundreds of books that analyze what makes the Facebook and Googles successful. But most companies aren't anywhere near that big, and they are still making lots of money. You can read case studies and just mentally move the decimal over to the left a place or three and extrapolate that scenario happening to a smaller company.

You have to get the technology down on whatever you go into, and so much of what you may be looking for may be in the cyber space. But a lot of businesses are based on personal relationships, with customers and employees, and the internet hasn't changed the fundamental nature of that. People want to trust, so give them a reason to trust you and tell their friends about you.

Maybe that's it for now : )