What do you think?
Rate this book
The Granularity of Growth: How to Identify the Sources of Growth and Drive Enduring Company Performance
While growth is a top priority for companies of all sizes, it can be extremely difficult to create and maintain―especially in today’s competitive business environment. The Granularity of Growth will put you in a better position to succeed as it reveals why growth is so important, what enables certain companies to grow so spectacularly, and how to ensure that growth comes from multiple sources as you take both a broad and a granular view of your markets.
- GenresBusiness
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
20 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 18, 2015
Have mixed feelings about this book. On one side it gave me a framework to think about growth and showed why granular thinking is important. On the other hand I lost interest after I read about 60% of the book and decided to skim through.
October 23, 2019
Big companies have difficulty in further growth.
To generate growth, they should focus on granularity; strategists' analysis have to incorporate more elements in this case.
Granularity disrupts generalization and expose growth in mature markets.
Three horizon model is introduced
1. Portfolio momentum, 2. M&A, and 3. market share are the three cylinder to generate growth.
from 1999 to 2006 “the average large company grew at ✔10.1%” annually.
1. Portfolio momentum generated ✔6.6% of that sustained growth.
2. Numerous studies challenge the profitability of mergers, but from 1999 to 2006, M&A generated ✔3.1% of the studied companies’ growth.
3. This measures how much of a given market a company controls. During the study period, market share generated only ✔0.4% of overall growth.
Management process have to consist of:
Growth direction, granular strategy, scale platform, granular blueprint.
Planning for Growth
“Extend and defend core businesses”
This requires specific action from each cylinder.
“Build emerging businesses”
“Create viable options”
This look at new opportunities is more speculative, so avoid wild risks. Instead, move with small,
measured steps “into white space.”
As you move from planning to acting, recognize that the question isn’t whether to move. To grow, you must move.The question is how to move and in what direction.
Scale and granularity used to be opposed. For example, think of mass production on the early assembly lines. Every Ford car was the same. However, information technology changed things. Now, scale can and should enable granularity in companies that combine proper strategic growth with appropriate organizational patterns. This “growth architecture” will vary from company to company. To define your best approach, review your current direction and status as objectively as possible. Is your company aligned with the economy? Do your investments take advantage of your strengths? How do you rate in the following five components of a well-designed organization?
To generate growth, they should focus on granularity; strategists' analysis have to incorporate more elements in this case.
Granularity disrupts generalization and expose growth in mature markets.
Three horizon model is introduced
1. Portfolio momentum, 2. M&A, and 3. market share are the three cylinder to generate growth.
from 1999 to 2006 “the average large company grew at ✔10.1%” annually.
1. Portfolio momentum generated ✔6.6% of that sustained growth.
2. Numerous studies challenge the profitability of mergers, but from 1999 to 2006, M&A generated ✔3.1% of the studied companies’ growth.
3. This measures how much of a given market a company controls. During the study period, market share generated only ✔0.4% of overall growth.
Management process have to consist of:
Growth direction, granular strategy, scale platform, granular blueprint.
Planning for Growth
“Extend and defend core businesses”
This requires specific action from each cylinder.
“Build emerging businesses”
“Create viable options”
This look at new opportunities is more speculative, so avoid wild risks. Instead, move with small,
measured steps “into white space.”
As you move from planning to acting, recognize that the question isn’t whether to move. To grow, you must move.The question is how to move and in what direction.
Scale and granularity used to be opposed. For example, think of mass production on the early assembly lines. Every Ford car was the same. However, information technology changed things. Now, scale can and should enable granularity in companies that combine proper strategic growth with appropriate organizational patterns. This “growth architecture” will vary from company to company. To define your best approach, review your current direction and status as objectively as possible. Is your company aligned with the economy? Do your investments take advantage of your strengths? How do you rate in the following five components of a well-designed organization?
June 3, 2017
For school
March 9, 2009
Methodical guidebook to help large companies get larger
This is a useful, methodical book. Rather than offering general platitudes on growth and strategy, Patrick Viguerie, Sven Smit and Mehrdad Baghai offer data-driven ways to generate growth. However, neither the approach nor the book are easy. The approach requires leaders to undertake hard, detailed work with rigorous honesty as they examine their companies and markets more specifically (that’s where the granular detail comes in) than most will want to. The authors are firm on the necessity of maintaining this intense level of awareness as markets change around you. The book requires a bit of patience, as the authors sometimes get overly invested in tiered structures, pacing readers through different categories of growth directions and structures that become a bit too abstract and technical. That aside, anyone looking for specific ways to address growth will find this helpful. getAbstract recommends it to CEOs, strategists and students of business growth.
This is a useful, methodical book. Rather than offering general platitudes on growth and strategy, Patrick Viguerie, Sven Smit and Mehrdad Baghai offer data-driven ways to generate growth. However, neither the approach nor the book are easy. The approach requires leaders to undertake hard, detailed work with rigorous honesty as they examine their companies and markets more specifically (that’s where the granular detail comes in) than most will want to. The authors are firm on the necessity of maintaining this intense level of awareness as markets change around you. The book requires a bit of patience, as the authors sometimes get overly invested in tiered structures, pacing readers through different categories of growth directions and structures that become a bit too abstract and technical. That aside, anyone looking for specific ways to address growth will find this helpful. getAbstract recommends it to CEOs, strategists and students of business growth.
May 4, 2009
Methodical guidebook to help large companies get larger
This is a useful, methodical book. Rather than offering general platitudes on growth and strategy, Patrick Viguerie, Sven Smit and Mehrdad Baghai offer data-driven ways to generate growth. However, neither the approach nor the book is easy. The approach requires leaders to undertake hard, detailed work with rigorous honesty as they examine their companies and markets more specifically (that’s where the granular detail comes in) than most will want to. The authors are firm on the necessity of maintaining this intense level of awareness as markets change around you. The book requires a bit of patience, as the authors sometimes get overly invested in tiered structures, pacing readers through different categories of growth directions and structures that become a bit too abstract and technical. That aside, anyone looking for specific ways to address growth will find this helpful. getAbstract recommends it to CEOs, strategists and students of business growth.
This is a useful, methodical book. Rather than offering general platitudes on growth and strategy, Patrick Viguerie, Sven Smit and Mehrdad Baghai offer data-driven ways to generate growth. However, neither the approach nor the book is easy. The approach requires leaders to undertake hard, detailed work with rigorous honesty as they examine their companies and markets more specifically (that’s where the granular detail comes in) than most will want to. The authors are firm on the necessity of maintaining this intense level of awareness as markets change around you. The book requires a bit of patience, as the authors sometimes get overly invested in tiered structures, pacing readers through different categories of growth directions and structures that become a bit too abstract and technical. That aside, anyone looking for specific ways to address growth will find this helpful. getAbstract recommends it to CEOs, strategists and students of business growth.
December 3, 2011
Don't waste your time reading this book. All you need to know is in the title. The analyses of company performancy are deeply flawed and show complete ignorance of the concept of statistical significance. The other advice sprinkled through the book doesn't go beyond the utterly superficial. A quote: "But how do you know what the right level of granularity is? The guiding principle is that it should allow your company to exploit the texture of the market but without sacrificing the benefits of scale." It doesn't get any more specific than this.
December 21, 2013
A business strategy book so if you aren't interested in business strategy skip it. Heavy on data, light on narrative. Does make that point that profitable growth is critical to long term success. Also talks about different ways to get that profitable growth with the least desirable focus being on taking away market share in a stagnant market.
January 18, 2009
Some interesting insights into the 3 Horizons McKinsey framework. Additionally, good analysis of the factors influencing growth of large companies.
Weak anecdotes coupled with an excessively long text make this book weaker.
Weak anecdotes coupled with an excessively long text make this book weaker.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews