The Granularity of Growth: How to Identify the Sources of Growth and Drive Enduring Company Performance

This is a useful, methodical book. Rather than offering general platitudes on growth and strategy, Patrick Viguerie, Sven Smit and Mehrdad Baghai offer data-driven ways to generate growth. However, neither the approach nor the book are easy. The approach requires leaders to undertake hard, detailed work with rigorous honesty as they examine their companies and markets more specifically (that's where the granular detail comes in) than most will want to. The authors are firm on the necessity of maintaining this intense level of awareness as markets change around you. The book requires a bit of patience, as the authors sometimes get overly invested in tiered structures, pacing readers through different categories of growth directions and structures that become a bit too abstract and technical. That aside, anyone looking for specific ways to address growth will find this helpful. getAbstract recommends it to CEOs, strategists and students of business growth.

There's a mountain of books on the market with an avalanche of ideas about growth and growing your business. However, The Granularity of Growth stands out from the rest and that's the reason Soundview heartily endorses this book. The fact is that most books oversimplify the difficulty that organizations of all sizes face as they develop and maintain new growth opportunities - especially considering today's tough economic and competitive realities. The team of authors, all of whom are experts in the burgeoning field of "growth studies," state that the key to unlocking true growth potential is in studying the nitty-gritty details, rather than the widely-used, overly-generalized strategies that seem to be in vogue. The writers rely on extensive quantitative findings that track a myriad of corporate growth factors to provide crisp insights in the pursuit of positive-performance expansion. Few organizations can afford to ignore the pearls of wisdom contained in this book regarding the types of institutional architecture, ambition and direction that contribute best toward sustainable growth.

In a business environment where meteoric falls are outpacing meteoric rises, the business community has been waiting for this important book on creating sustainable growth. This book will challenge executives to look at their growth strategies differently than they have in the past. Chasing market share by selling more or acquiring competitors might lengthen a Company's life, but it will not guarantee long term success. Real, sustainable growth begins with a granular understanding of what's really going on in your industry and its sub-industries. Viguerie, Smit and Baghai guide the reader through the kinds of analyses companies should undertake to discover pockets of unmet demand in order to reach new customer segments with innovative products or solutions.(In my opinion, this book is as much about innovation as it is about growth.) The authors also offer insights on how to build a "growth architecture" by synchronizing strategy, organizational structure, management processes and communication. " The Granularity of Growth" is highly readable in spite of the very sophisticated management concepts it introduces. The book is packed with real examples of companies that have achieved extraordinary growth through a granular understanding of their business. A must read for any executive who lies awake at night wondering how to keep the growth engine firing on all cylinders.

Growth is something every company needs - but how to do it efficiently? "The Granularity of Growth: How to Identify the Sources of Growth and Drive Enduring Company Performance" is an examination of growth, and a handbook for businesses that seek to do it. Analyzing companies' plans to increase their size, power, and potential profit along with tips for improvement, The Granularity of Growth leaves no stone unturned and no aspect to pure chance. An essential acquisition for business leaders and community library collections.

With the typical McKinsey rigor this book points the way to grow for companies of all sizes in good times and bad. It describes the way for finding those growth opportunities by segmenting and seizing opportunities -- providing real new insights that I can take to the bank in my own business.