Beyond The Core
After "Profit From the Core," in which the author defended the concept that profitable growth comes from the core business, he returns to show that diversification into adjacent businesses can be an effective path to profitable growth.
Author(s): Chris Zook
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Date of publication: 2004
Manageris opinion
What to do when the real growth prospects of the core business seriously dwindle? How do some companies manage to mobilize their key skills to enter new businesses successfully? How to expand the core business without needlessly dispersing the energy of the company? After Profit From the Core, in which the author defended the concept that profitable growth comes from the core business, he returns to show that diversification into adjacent businesses can be an effective path to profitable growth.
The author shows companies do not usually regenerate themselves by making big breakthroughs or radical innovations so much as through a gradual process of differentiating themselves repeatedly in small ways, guided by careful observation of consumer needs and behavior.
Nonetheless, he warns readers that moving beyond the core business is a risky choice that requires great discipline. The author presents the key success factors for implementing such a strategy, and insists on the need to start with a thorough assessment of the core business. To assist with this, he provides a set of checklists and analysis tools. Finally, the book undertakes to address the principal organizational questions raised by any diversification, with the help of numerous illustrations.
A useful read when defining a new growth strategy.
