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Monday, September 24, 2007

What Differentiates Growth Champions From The Rest

The Mercer Delta Consulting firm looked at the 10 practices that statistically differentiated "growth champions" from all other companies.

It found that growth champions:

(For the sake of continuity, the appropriate discipline from Six Disciplines for Excellence has been inserted)

  • Were very clear about their markets or businesses and where growth will come from. (Discipline I-C Renew Strategic Position)
  • Articulated clear profit models that were well understood by managers and focused the whole business on a few initiatives. (Discipline I-E Define Vital Few Objectives)
  • Engaged in the disciplined execution of growth initiatives at all levels of the organization and translated customer insights into new offerings and/or business improvements.
  • Maintained strong metrics/feedback to identify what was or wasn't working. (Discipline IV-E Monitor Measures)
  • Made effective trade-off decisions about which opportunities to invest in (Discipline V - Innovate Purposefully)
  • Ensured there was sustained alignment of their leaders and actions to support growth strategies (Discipline III-F Align People)
  • Built on their leaders' capabilities to grow the company from within (Discipline VI-D Review Individuals)

BOTTOMLINE: What set growth champions apart was their ability to implement (execute) these business practices in conjunction with one another and to pursue the practices with a greater level of intensity. The growth champions implement these key practices in a systematic way.

(Thanks to our friends at Management-Issues for the tip)

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