By Donna Fenn

Bnet.com – May 9, 2011

5. Be good to customers and employees

Elizabeth Elting, TransPerfect (#8)

Revenue: $251.2 million

Language services provider

“I credit our growth to two key philosophies. First, spoil your clients. You don’t merely want to satisfy them; you want to provide such great customer service and high-quality results that they equate your company’s name with “Wow!”

Second, hire the very best people you can find and then give them room to grow and excel. Giving your people a high level of ownership over their individual domains means that as they come up through the ranks and then arrive at the top, they can look around and feel really good about what they have accomplished. Nothing was given to them, and there is a great deal of pride associated with that process of building something great from the ground up. It also helps us know that our managers aren’t just collecting a paycheck; they are personally invested in ensuring the growth and success of TransPerfect.