Growth Champions: The Battle for Sustained Innovation Leadership

Introduction

Growth Champions provides a distinct, informed perspective on how leading companies have been able to create, build and sustain growth to win the innovation battle. Drawing on a mixture of insights, research, interviews, anecdotes, and examples, it has been written to help business leaders to learn from the masters of innovation and understand the key lessons that really make a difference as they venture into the future.

Why Growth?

Sustained growth is the ambition of most leaders. It has become not only the center of strategy but it is also a critical cultural focus for most organizations. If the sought-after goal of being a Growth Champion can be achieved then there are multiple positive impacts and implications – all high profile: think of companies like Apple and Google, PepsiCo and Nike. Most companies today place improved growth at the core of their businesses. Likewise, countries have growth at the heart of their economic strategies.

While the mergers and acquisition (M&A) route to growth has, at times, been favored by some organizations such as GSK, Pfizer, Boeing, and Alliance-Boots, most academic, consultancy, and government research over the years has highlighted that the organic growth option is seen to have a higher chance of success. If you consider mergers such as AOL-Time Warner, HP-Compaq, and Daimler-Chrysler, which have had to combine different cultures and streamline product portfolios, never mind integrate contrasting strategic objectives, it is ...