'This book is straightforward, factual and to the point. Any Leader responsible for business growth should read it! A blueprint full of practical ideas and tools to inspire you into action'-Craig Donaldson - Chief Executive Officer, Metro Bank (RANKED NUMBER ONE IN GLASSDOOR'S HIGHEST RATED CEO 2016)
If you asked a cross-section of business leaders, business owners and entrepreneurs what their biggest business challenge is, you would probably hear the same recurring thought: growing their business in a sustainable, predictable, yet profitable way - quickly.
It's a reality that most businesses and individuals never reach their full potential, always yearning for the 'thing' that will catapult them into significance, but never really finding it.
Whether you're an entrepreneur starting out, or a director, executive or business leader climbing the corporate ladder, the building blocks of Built to Grow are universally applicable.
Developed in the real world laboratory of thousands of businesses in twenty-seven countries spanning over two decades, Built to Grow is a proven, time-tested model to unlock the real potential in your business.
Avoid the common pitfalls of a trial and error approach to business growth. Built to Grow is full of practical strategies, tools and ideas, backed up with real world case studies to illustrate what can be achieved - leaving you equipped to transform your businesses performance and drive tangible results.
Built to Grow is destined to become your handbook, your 'go to' guide, your roadmap to accelerated, sustained and profitable business growth.
Acknowledgements xi
About the Author xv
Introduction 1
Why Built to Grow? 2
What Built to Grow Is Not 2
How to Use Built to Grow 2
The Added Benefi t to You 3
Chapter 1: The Fundamentals of Business Growth: Your AMR Strategy 5
The First BIG Idea 5
Your AMR Strategy 7
Your Business Growth Formula: How the Numbers Work 10
The Profit Impact 12
AMR in Action 16
Developing Multiple Strategies 22
Become Really Curious 23
Summary 24
Chapter 2: Your Business Growth Transformation Framework® (BGTF) 25
Adopt a Success Modelling Approach 26
Your Business Growth Transformation Framework® 27
Your Recipe for Success 28
a. 7 Guiding Principles 32
b. Strategic Plan 35
c. Inspirational Leadership 40
d. High Performing Organization Model 40
e. Measures That Matter 41
Summary: Setting a Foundation of Great Habits 43
Chapter 3: Inspirational Leadership 45
Developing Your Leadership Culture 47
Why the Leader-Follower Structure is at Odds With Developing a Leadership Culture 49
The Solution: Leader-Leader 50
The Four Types of Leaders 50
Turning Your Organizational Design Upside Down 51
Developing Your Leadership Traits and Style 52
Summary 64
Chapter 4: Building a High Performing Organization 65
Vision/Purpose 66
Values/Behaviours 71
Strategic Plan 76
Disciplined Execution 79
Performance Culture 81
Summary 83
Chapter 5: Business Purpose, Aspirational Goals, and Growth Strategy 85
The Power of Your WHY 86
Caution: Two Pitfalls to Avoid in Finding Your WHY 89
Life is Like a Boomerang 90
Translating Your Personal WHY into Your Business's WHY 91
Aligning Your Business's WHY With Your People's Personal WHY 92
What Business Are You Really in? 94
Your Goal Before You Move on 98
Summary 101
Chapter 6: Market Potential Strategy 103
Alignment of Your Aspirational Goals With the Market Potential 104
Defi ning the Size of Opportunity 107
Segmenting and Profiling the Opportunity 108
Why Consumers Buy and How the Competition Can Impact Your Market Potential 111
Market Potential and 'The Four Seasons Calendar' 113
Summary 114
Chapter 7: Compelling Value Proposition Strategy 117
What Customers Really Care About 117
Essentials of a Compelling Value Proposition 118
Introducing the Benefits Track 121
Zooming In and Zooming Out 126
When Technology Impacts Your Compelling Value Proposition 127
So, Are You Ready? 128
Market Research Through Your Customer Lens 129
Summary 130
Chapter 8: Customer Strategy 131
The Big Idea 132
The Experience Economy 132
The Digital Age is Transforming the Game 142
Making it Real for Your Business 142
Measures That Matter 144
Summary 145
Chapter 9: Marketing and Communications Strategy 147
The Purpose of Marketing and Communications 148
Interdependency with Your Other Strategies 150
Trends Shaping the Marketing Landscape 151
Defining the Brand 154
Writing Your Marketing and Communications Strategy 157
Turning Strategy into ACTION Through Your Marketing Plan 166
Measures That Matter 167
Summary: A Science . . . and an Art 168
Chapter 10: Business Development and Sales Strategy 171
Internal Brand Positioning of Sales 171
Who's in Sales in Your Business? 172
A Scientific Approach 173
1. Sales Planning and Forecasting 174
2. Your Customer Classification Framework 178
3. Your Proposition Matrix - Getting Customers to Buy More 182
4. Your Customer Contact Strategy 186
5. Your Sales Map 189
6. Your Sales Funnel 193
Summary: Selling Success 196
Chapter 11: People Strategy 197
Are People a Cost or an Investment in Your Business? 198
The BIG Idea: Creating Your Employee Value Proposition 198
1. Identifying Your People Gap 202
2. Building a Robust People Pipeline 204
3. Growing and Developing Your People 210
4. Retaining Your People 215
Summary 216
Chapter 12: Operational Excellence Strategy 217
Practice Makes Perfect . . . or Does it? 219
The Need for a Robust Operational Strategy 220
Applying the 7 Guiding Principles in Your Quest for Operational Excellence 221
Embracing Technology as a Competitive Advantage 231
Operational Improvement Never Stops 233
Summary 235
Chapter 13: Finance and Governance 237
Change Your Mindset . . . Change the Game 239
Keeping Score . . . 240
The Challenge 240
Measures That Matter 244
Your Three Most Important Financial Tools 253
Reality Check 253
The Exciting News 255
Funding Routes: The Upsides and Downsides 256
Summary 256
Chapter 14: Control the Controllable 257
Chapter 15: Your Journey to Mastery 261
Being Committed and in the Arena 262
A Never-Ending Pursuit of Personal Mastery 262
Bibliography 267
Index 273