SOWING GROWTH IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

Abstract

G rowing a business seems next to impossible in tough economic times. Your customers aren't buying as much or as frequently as they used to, and the usual programs don't seem to work as well anymore. And that's frustrating, because the benefits of growing your core business are clear. Nothing creates greater shareholder value or builds a more vibrant organization than generating higher and higher levels of growth in your principal business. But sowing growth in your own backyard is hard to do— really hard to do. Even talented and seasoned managers blessed with boom times have toiled with this problem year after year. They have broken their analytical picks trying to make sense of the complexities of their market, they have har­ vested all the low-hanging fruit, and even when they do spot promising new opportunities, their organization often rejects them in favor of business-as-usual programs. The reward for their hard work: frustration and tepid growth. And yet, even in really tough times, and perhaps especial­ ly in tough times, there lies a golden opportunity. Slowdowns compel managers to take a hard look at their organizations, to challenge conventional wisdom, and to reconnect with their markets (lest they fall further out of step with it). To make the most of the unfreezing of the way their company thinks and acts, they need a fertile, concrete approach to guide their thinking. Actually finding golden opportunities doesn't require access to a silver bullet, just the discipline of employ­ ing the tried and true growth principles that deliver in good times and in bad. In fact, these principles consistently serve to double and triple growth rates. Throw out the fads and begin the hard work—a cornucopia lies in your own backyard.