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 business environment.
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A powerful and practical guide for growth and profitability providing the key lessons and methods for corporate growth. -- Financial Times, October 22, 1999
It's certainly an inexpensive introduction to many useful ideas from one of the world's leading management consultancies. -- Sunday Business Post, February 28, 1999
It's certainly an inexpensive introduction to many useful ideas from one of the world's leading management consultancies. -- Sunday Business Post, February 28, 1999
From the Publisher
LATEST REVIEWS OF THE ALCHEMY OF GROWTH
THE INDEPENDENT (Book of the Week): "In throwing light on the mechanics of growth, the book is likely to prove highly valuable."
THE INDEPENDENT (Book of the Week): "In throwing light on the mechanics of growth, the book is likely to prove highly valuable."
BUSINESS AGE: " The book's authors take a hard look at the roots of company growth: what causes it and how it can be encouraged. The three have put together a book that makes facinating reading."
SUNDAY BUSINESS POST: "I would recommend this book to top management and their professional advisers in medium to large sized organisations. It's certainly an inexpensive introduction to many useful ideas from one of the world's leading management consultancies."
DIRECTOR: "Only one in 10 companies that exceeds its industry average for growth in any year is able to repeat that performance every year for a decade. Yet it can be done. Three Mckinsey specialists reveal the secret formula needed to turn good ideas into gold."
FINANCIAL TIMES: "The simplicity of the idea is its very strength."
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: "Its principles grab you immediately - but this is not a weighty tome on management theory...[For investors] this book will help you identify genuine growth companies and think for yourself."
ASIAN BUSINESS: "Companies need to cut costs and rationalise their businesses. But changes must be made with growth in mind if firms want to survive." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
Only an exceptional organization manages to sustain growth when its core business matures. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Only an exceptional organization manages to sustain growth when its core business matures. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
There are some excellent and solid ideas on what it takes to create growth in companies. But this is not like other typical books by management consultants. There's a real practical edge, mixed with a genuine understanding of the realities of corporate life, that makes this book valuable. I thought the authors' Three Horizons concept so useful in thinking about growth.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
From the management consulting firm that brought us In Search of Excellence here its latest contribution to the literature on business growth. Based on an worldwide Mckinsey research project, the book provides CEO's with a simple framework of understanding how businesses grow sustainably and easily applied metrics for understanding growths in different horizons. Another strength of the book lies in its emphasis on a differientated approach towards talent management in different horizons of growth. The challenge lies in maintaining growth in a company's core businesses while launching new ventures. As the book demonstrated, planning for growth is not formulaic but requires the nurturing of a pipeline of business opportunities
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
The authors of this book bring a missionary zeal to the subject of business growth. Growth must be embraced by both organizations set in by institutional sclerosis as the necessary ingredient for rejuvenation and renewal and smaller organizations seeking new horizons for profits. In an era of downsizing and corporate retrenchment, it is a message of hope. Business Growers should be rewarded and acclaimed for their contribution to society and economic growth. This message should not only be embraced by CEO's and Boards of Directors but also by every member of the organization. A successful growth strategie spurred by good talent management would enable members of an organization to participate in this wealth creating process. A strength of the study lies in the diversity of the case studies in both geographies and nature of industries. World-Class Growers are not only found in Sillicon Valley but in such industries as real estate, consumer goods, gas and electric companies. Another strength of the book lies in its simplicity , a how to guide for businesses.
From the book, one can glean the fascinating stories of those who have built these businesses from Softbank's founder Masayoshi Son's who standing on a crate proclaimed to his two employers in 1981:" We are going to make US$100 million in five years and $500 million in ten years and one day , we will become to US $10 billion company" to Li Ka-Shing's ability to use his Chinese connections to grow his firm into a multi-billion company. It is shame that the authors are not able to give longer profiles of the history of some of these growth companies, a kind of oral history of how visionaries have built empires.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One that really made an impression
I read it some years ago - and made notes that I have referred to frequently. I have recommended to a number of mentees in Senior Management positions. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2006 by Spritan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Useful Insights about Growth Options
The authors have focused on one type of real options - growth options - and written a useful book on the topic. Read more
Published on 13 Jun 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
The BCG growth-share matrix for the late 90's
Although one should always be skeptical of consultant-authored business books, on occasion they combine academic thought with practical experience to generate real insight. Read more
Published on 19 April 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book presents a simple yet powerful concept.
"The Alchemy of Growth" is an easy read, full of examples involving companies and products every consumer knows about. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 1999
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