Zook(Bain consulting) has taken years worth of research and distilled it down into a tightly written 200 pages of very important advice for senior executives who are struggling to crack the code on how to grow their companies. The book focuses on how to best manage growth using "adjacency moves," an awkwardly titled but effective (when properly managed) growth strategy to complement, rather than detract from, a company's core business. Zook isn't peddling a panacea for senior managers. His underlying message hasn't changed since he co-authored Profit From the Core in 2001: Successful growth is hard work and the devil is in the details. Successful companies consistently have CEOs who sweat out the strategy and the implementation with his or her troops, and who champion the new growth initiatives and protect them from the entrenched interests that companies of any significant size have. "The management team that applies rigor, not a vague sense of creativity or gut instinct, wins the long-term adjacency game," Zook writes.In the author's view, an "adjacency move" is any attempt by a company to move beyond its core business in search of growth. These moves can take many forms, such as selling current products or services through a new channel or in a new geography, or selling new products or services to current customers.Some firms face bigger challenges than others in moving beyond the core.Zook makes it clear that if you want to shift your entire company in a dramatic lunge for growth, forget it. Adjacency moves work best if they are incremental and repeatable and don't drain your core business of resources. Think you can cure the problems of your core by growing away from it? Don't bother. Data supports the conclusion that moves away from the core won't pan out if the fundamental problems of the core are not fixed first. A very well written book by one of the top consultant in the world. |
Sadagopan's Weblog on Emerging Technologies, Trends,Thoughts, Ideas & Cyberworld "All views expressed are my personal views are not related in any way to my employer"
