The Alchemy of Growth - Hardcover

Baghai, Mehrdad; Coley, Stephen; White, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752813617 ISBN 13: 9780752813615

Publisher: Orion Business Books, 1999

Synopsis

Growth is the number one strategic concern of virtually every company and executive today. Following the recent years of heavy cost-cutting, companies everywhere are now lean and mean, and desperate for growth. Based upon a major study of 40 of the world's greatest growth companies of recent times (including Disney, Bertelsmann, Gillette, Lotus, Coca-Cola, Nokia) by the world's leading management consultancy, McKinsey & Co, this book provides the most powerful and practical methodology for growth and profitability so far. In examining these leading growth companies, and finding out how they approach and (more important) implement their growth strategies, the authors have discovered that high growth is achieved not by bold leaps but by a series of measured steps. Each of these successful companies share a distinctive pattern in their growth strategy in the form of a 'staircase' of manageable steps. Few if any single steps are dramatic - but when linked together as a staircase of sequential growth, the results are dramatic. This book contains detailed case studies of the main growth companies, and extracts from them the key lessons and methods for corporate growth in today's complex

About this title

Review

Why do some companies come and go while others endure? According to McKinsey & Company, Inc. consultants Mehrdad Baghai, Stephen Coley, and David White, the secret to a lasting enterprise is sustained growth. In The Alchemy of Growth, the authors offer a practical guide for jumpstarting expansion and keeping it going. "Growth is a noble pursuit. It creates new jobs for the community and wealth for shareholders. It can turn ordinary companies into stimulating environments where employees find a sense of purpose in their work," they write. "Growth's transformative power is akin to the alchemy of old."

The authors describe the approaches that have succeeded in helping their corporate clients around the world to step up the pace. For instance, companies must simultaneously focus on "three horizons" critical to growth. The first is the current bread-and-butter of the firm; the second, the fast-developing entrepreneurial ventures; and the third, the ideas that will germinate into tomorrow's profits. The best part of the book: the real-life examples of firms that have transformed themselves from laggards to supercharged growth companies. Take Disney, for example. After founder Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company stagnated, with its theme park and film business slipping. But after Michael Eisner took over in 1984, Disney boosted its average annual returns to 29 percent, on the strength of growth in such new avenues as Disney stores, ESPN, and resort development. The Alchemy of Growth is an instructive handbook for managers interested in spurring their companies to new heights. --Dan Ring

About the Author

Mehrdad Baghai, Steve Coley, and David White are partners in McKinsey & Company's Toronto, Sydney, and Chicago offices, and lead the firm's worldwide growth practice.

Edition details

• Publisher: Orion Business Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0752813617
• ISBN 13: 9780752813615
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 265