A Better Way To Grow

Now that most major developed countries appear to be returning to a period of growth, the question on the minds of CEOs has shifted from cost reduction and containment to how best to grow. The trouble is that most companies do not have an effective growth strategy. They lack the structure, political capital and resources to be successful.

Growth involves an element of risk taking and adventure that is often at odds with running a successful business. To be successful at growth, companies need to adopt a different paradigm. Instead of looking at ideas for growth on an individual investment go/no-go basis there should be a target of “We will grow X per day by a certain date”. Not only does this credible commitment to growth boost the company’s share price, it provides a target to achieve.

This new paradigm requires that companies get serious about growth and actively manage a programme to achieve the growth they desire. A growth strategy is a practically grounded investment programme and not necessarily a singular idea for examination.

How London really won the games

Web Exclusive: The 2012 Olympic Games were never supposed to be in London. Michael Payne provides the inside story on how the bid was won

London entered the race to host the 2012 Olympic Games back in 2003. It was an outsider and stumbled through the early bid process. London trailed behind the favourite Paris, with Madrid, New York and Moscow all running hard.  London even struggled to find a CEO willing to take on the daunting task of leading the bid.  Perhaps surprisingly, no UK executive saw it as a particularly enticing career move, and eventually the American business woman, Barbara Cassani was persuaded to step forward. By the time the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had completed its initial evaluation of the technical files, London was ranked a distant third in the race and, by some, in an increasingly lacklustre fourth place.