The Breakthrough Imperative: How the Best Managers Get Outstanding Results
Consulting firm Bain prides itself on—and profits from—its unique intellectual capital. Yet rarely do such firms build on the expertise and knowledge contributed by previous partners. The exception is Gottfredson and Schaubert relying on both Frederick Reichheld’s The Loyalty Effect (1996) and Chris Zook’s Profit from the Core (2004) to explain and show new leaders the how-to’s of achieving breakthrough results. The four rules behind the authors’ program seem deceptively simple: (1) costs and prices always decline, (2) competitive position determines your options, (3) customers and profit pools don’t stand still, and (4) simplicity gets results. Yet, as to be expected, charts, graphs, and some rather complicated calculations, along with a wealth of corporate data (some 1,500 companies), dominate the more detailed explanations. Corporate case histories do provide enough illustrative material to negate any mathematical mysteries. After expounding on these basics and including implications for general managers at the end of each chapter, the authors outline a road map for new leaders to follow: how to diagnose your current state, plan the end goal, and get results. --Barbara Jacobs--This text refers to an alternateHardcoveredition.