Growth Management: Two Hats are Better than One - Hardcover

Lester, A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0230577504 ISBN 13: 9780230577503

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009

Synopsis

Growth Management - In Recessions and Boom times
Successful people and companies do two things at the same time: they deliver cash today, and sustainable growth tomorrow. They operate the business efficiently and they see and deliver great new opportunities. They use two different styles of thinking and management.

Wearing Two Hats is essential to business. But how and when to wear each one?

"We just can't implement anymore", "No one trusts us to do anything, everything has to go upstairs," There's no joined up thinking in this business".
More and more these are the phrases of modern business life. Frustration is at all levels of companies, driven by a short term profit focus at the expense of longer term sustainable growth. Customer choice is at overload, they are more brand promiscuous. Employees move companies and sectors readily, there are far fewer 'careers for life'. Companies are losing experience and processes as they slim down to remain nimble, reducing their ability to grow new business.

Businesses and employees today must be comfortable wearing Two Hats: running the day job and separately delivering sustainable growth. But without the support and structure of the company and people around them, they will fail. This book explains the need for Two Hats and focuses on how to deliver sustainable growth in good times and bad. It works for organisations and individuals.

About this title

Product Description:

Unusual book

Review:

'It has a simple powerful message, written in a really user friendly way. It is well known that profitable growth is a powerful creator of shareholder value yet most organisations are best suited to managing the status quo. This book gives a well structured, practical, easy to use guide on how to embed growth in an organisation. It is a good combination of professional techniques and experienced based observations on the dynamics and pitfalls of making growth happen in large organisations' - Andy Harrison, CEO easyJet

"I enjoyed it all and particularly the section on the recession. It reinforced many of the actions we have been taking. It has an easy style and the practical charts bring the concepts to life'. - Jim O'Donnell, President BMW North America

"This book is excellent. It provides great tools and techniques on a core concept that driving the cash and delivering sustainable growth need different management styles. There's no consultancy speak here just well thought through practical advice and comments....follow the process and you'll get results!" - Sir Nick Scheele, former CEO Ford Motor Company (Worldwide)

'Growth and stability are two sides of the same coin. Andrew Lester reveals how one without the other leads organizations into risking either reckless innovation or becoming inward looking and un-inventive. The two hats of growth and stability provide a strong basis for achieving and sustaining competitive advantage. A highly experienced senior manager, Andrew Lester brings his wisdom to bear in this book, amply illustrated by many key examples and he also provides a range of methodologies for assessing your own business. Invaluable for the practicing manager or the student of business alike.' - Professor David Wilson, Deputy Dean Warwick Business School

'In a world of frugality, high need and quick yield, Andrew Lester's no nonsense approach to getting it right first time and with optimum discipline is an essential read.' - Alexei Orlov, President Europe Middle East Draftfcb

'This book provides a number of forms and formats to help people structure their thinking and very useful prompts to focus on the areas where sales and marketing teams need to capture data in order to develop effective business strategies. A number of the examples and war stories are really helpful to illuminate the power of tools and techniques and the concept of two alternative ways of thinking about problems and issues works really well.' - John Neill, CEO Unipart Group

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0230577504
• ISBN 13: 9780230577503
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 218