Page 173 - Accelerating out of the Great Recession

ACCELERATING OUT OF THE GREAT RECESSION

Over much of the last 20 years, it was possible (if not always
achievable) to be successful simply by riding market growth.
The challenge now is to be successful despite anemic markets
and in the face of significantly intensified competition. For
many executives, managing in a slow-growth environment—
where the battle to gain market share is all-important—is a new
phenomenon. It certainly changes the competitive rules of the
game. And the task is not simply to seek growth for growth’s
sake. A dynamic corporate culture requires growth in order to
offer talented people an opportunity for personal development
and satisfying careers.
We have identified some of the strategies that companies
should deploy to survive and thrive. Taken at face value, they
may look like common sense. How can it ever be wrong to
lower costs and increase revenues?
But we focus on these strategies because they have a proven
history of working in recessionary times. What is more, these
commonsense approaches are not as easy to implement as it
might seem, especially in difficult times—and their successful
execution requires decisive leadership and a willingness to think
unconventionally.
Today, the margin for error for business leaders is smaller
than it has been for a very long time. For a company to be suc-
cessful, it is mandatory to achieve sustained differentiation.
Companies that fail to do so will find that they have nowhere
to hide.
Good strategies will stand out; poor ones will result in a
weakened business model, which in turn will lead to a sustained
and possibly irrecoverable loss of competitive position. As we
have described throughout this book, empirical evidence from
past recessions shows that companies that outperform during a

■ 152 ■