Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai - by Nicolas Darveau-Garneau (Hardcover)

About the Book

Learn the secrets of the Sequoias and how long-term success comes from implementing a strategy that maximizes growth.

Book Synopsis

Simple, low-risk experiments for long-term profit growth that you can test right now--from Google's former Chief Evangelist, Nicolas Darveau-Garneau.

As a business leader or marketer, if you've been pouring your efforts into efficiency metrics (like customer acquisition cost or return on ad spend) instead of trying to optimize profits, your methodology is unsustainable. In the age of AI, optimizing the wrong key performance indicator can be catastrophic.

Whether you work at a Fortune 500 giant, a startup, or a nonprofit, Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai gives you a growth playbook that will help you correctly prioritize sustainability over short-term efficiency.

With step-by-step guides and hundreds of case studies, Darveau-Garneau will shift how you measure marketing success by teaching you how to:

• Maximize profitable growth by tracking the right metrics, not vanity metrics.
• Acquire the most valuable customers, not just the most customers.
• Dramatically increase customer lifetime value with practical, scalable strategies.
• Strengthen your brand with modern, profit-driven branding approaches.
• Deliver a customer experience your competitors can't match.
• Build a culture of rapid testing and innovation that keeps you ahead.

Nicolas Darveau-Garneau has advised senior executives at more than a thousand companies. He discovered that the fastest-growing 5% all followed these same seven principles. . .

The best part? These breakthroughs don't require acquisitions, billion-dollar tech investments, or years of product development. They're simple, testable, affordable, and scalable. And they're all based on one premise: Corporate sequoias prioritize profitable growth, while bonsai concentrate on efficiency and stay small.

". . .a groundbreaking book. Nicolas Darveau-Garneau has distilled thousands of CEO and CMO meetings into a playbook every ambitious leader needs to read--and, more importantly, put into practice every day." --Jasper Malcolmson, Head of Growth at Gusto and Robinhood

Review Quotes

'As someone who guides top executives through AI and Digital Transformation, I can attest that the principles in Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai are the blueprint for what separates truly great companies from the merely good.'--GOPI KALLAYIL, Google Chief AI Business Strategist

'Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai is a ground-breaking book. Nicolas Darveau-Garneau has distilled thousands of CEO and CMO meetings into a playbook every ambitious leader needs to read and, more importantly, put into practice every day.'--JASPER MALCOLMSON, Head of growth at Gusto and Robinhood

'Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai is a practical book that any company can follow to unleash profitable growth. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to take their company, startup, or non-profit to the next level.'--LUC LEVESQUE, former head of growth at Shopify

'Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai offers a smart and actionable framework for enduring business growth. Drawing on over 1,000 C-suite conversations, Nick distills seven practical shifts used by the world's most exceptional companies. If you're ready to move beyond optimization theater and build something lasting, start here.'--JIM LECINSKI, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and author of The AI Marketing Canvas

'I was in the room on multiple occasions when Nick showed CMOs, CFOs, and CEOs how they could reshape their profit trajectories. Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai is not just a book, it's a strategic mantra and competitive weapon. If you are an executive interested in driving profitable growth, here's your new playbook.'--ALAN EAGLE, bestselling author of The Trillion Dollar Coach, How Google Works, and Leading Excellence

'I've worked with the world's top CEOs and CMOs and rarely seen someone distill complex growth truths this clearly. Be a sequoia. Your customers, and your CFO, will thank you.'--AVINASH KAUSHIK, bestselling author of Analytics 2.0 and Occam's Razor

'Many business books are conjectures wrapped in consultant speak. NDG's approach is different: it's battle-tested. His track record speaks for itself, but more importantly, his frameworks actually work in the real world. If you want to radically change your company's profit trajectory, this is your playbook.'--NEIL HOYNE, Google Chief Strategist and author of Converted